


Upside Down

by chaoticlogic



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Big Brother Sweet Pea, Domestic Fluff, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Gang Violence, M/M, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-18 07:16:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14848178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticlogic/pseuds/chaoticlogic
Summary: You don't know much about Sweet Pea, except for what you hear in the hallways around school. You pass him on your way to and from classes and you've perhaps brushed his arm a hand full of times. You don't know him and he doesn't know you.That is until you save his baby sister from the Ghoulies all while simultaneously getting involved in a world you want nothing to do with and events you would rather stay out of.Too bad the Ghoulies have other ideas...





	1. Girl Meets Instinct

You know more about the Ghoulies than you would like, and less than you should. Growing up on the Southside you learn to stay out of everyone’s way, regardless of the tattoo that adorns their body, but the Ghoulies have no honor. Not that you didn’t already know that when you came upon a scene fresh out of a bad teenage movie. A girl around maybe 10 or 11 with a once bright purple backpack, now dulled with use and age and leggings torn at the knee is being circled and taunted by 3 Ghoulies. Her black hair was knotted and fell down past her shoulder obscuring her face almost like a shield against the boys harassing her. She’s hunched forward in fear as she tries in vain to hide herself from the guys circling her. 

You roll down your window in just enough time to hear something about a “little snake.” 

“Hey!” you yell out the window affronted by teens easily a foot taller than the girl they are picking on. “What do you think you’re doing?!” 

Now you aren’t one to get caught up with the Ghoulies or the Serpents, their war was their own and you were happy to have no part of it. However, no way are you letting a kid get tangled up in the crossfire. That was Southside law, kids were left alone by gangs period. 

Your outburst catches the attention of the sleazy guys and the girl’s head snaps up to meet your eyes. You can see the unshed tears of fear from here and whatever maternal instinct that lays dormant in females until needed awakens with a roar. Before you even have a moment to think about what you are doing, you are out of your beat up car and in the face of the first one you come to. 

“What’s your problem?!” the guy yells, he’s missing a couple of teeth and his hair is greasy like he hasn’t had a shower in a couple of days. 

“You’re my problem!” you practically spit at him, “She’s just a kid!”

“That’s none of your fuckin business,” he spits back. 

“It is now,” you say with a deadly calm.

You turn towards the girl and hold your hand out to her, a clear indication she should come with you. She starts toward you when the guy turns and gets in her way the other two closing in behind her. You aren’t sure what possessed you to do it. You know it isn’t a good idea, and yet it’s pretty brilliant all the same. The Ghoulie hits the ground as you kick the back of his knee making his legs buckle and then you push him the rest of the way to the ground. The other two look up in shock obviously not thinking you would do anything. 

The girl scurries over to you and you yell for her to get in the car and lock the door. Before you can fully enter the car a hand is in your hair gripping hard and pulling you away from the haven of locked doors and a clean getaway. Your back hits the pavement and suddenly three guys are standing over you leering down at your prone form. 

Fear grips your heart and you can feel the adrenaline rushing through your veins. 

“Hey!” Screeches the girl as something clatters to the ground next to you. You look over and see the baseball bat from your car for instances such as this. You don’t even think about it as you snatch it off the ground and swing it towards the first guy you see. You hear a sickening crunch and a yell as he goes down. 

The click of a switchblade it way too familiar as you look at the two that aren’t howling in pain on the ground. One tries to grab your leg but you kick out as you flail the bat around tring to get a hit on the other one. When your foot connects with a groin and he doubles over in pain you take the hit with no regrets. Swinging the bat down and hitting him in the head hard enough to send him down, but not hard enough to do damage. Finally able to make it to your feet you stare the last one down. 

“You’re gonna pay for this bitch!” he snarls as he turns and runs off leaving other two guys behind. 

You turn and jump in the car as the sound of sirens in the distance grow louder. Your breathing is labored as you speed away and it takes several minutes for your heart to stop pounding and the reality of what you had just done to sink in. 

Fifteen minutes down the road you come to a run down McDonalds and you park in the parking lot just breathing in order to calm your racing heart. That is until a voice speaks up from the back seat. 

“THAT. was the COOLEST. THING. I have EVER seen!!!” She ends the sentence with a high pitched squeal of amazement and admiration. 

You just nod in confusion “Ummm… if you say so?” 

“No seriously! You could be a Serpent!”

“Let’s not get carried away…” you reason calmly, “I was just trying to get us both out of that situation unharmed…” Glancing down at your arms you notice a couple of bleeding cuts, no doubt from the knife. You watch for a moment as blood drips from your arms down to your pants soaking into your jeans and making you groan in annoyance. 

“Relatively… unharmed…” you say with a sigh as you finally feel the sting on your skin. You reach over and pull a wad of napkins out of your glovebox to stall the bleeding while you assess the situation. 

“So… What happened?” you ask catching her big brown eyes in the rearview mirror as you dab at your arms. 

“My big brother didn’t show up to pick me up from school. I decided I would try to walk home even though he’s told me to never do that… I thought it would be okay! I didn’t think anyone would bother me… I was hoping he was just at home and had just… forgot me…” She ends with a worried whisper. 

“Does he often forget you?” you ask softly dreading the answer regardless of what it is. 

“Never.” She says with a steely conviction that is barely familiar. You’ve seen it before in the eyes of someone from some memory in your life. You don’t dwell too much on it, there are more important things at hand to deal with.

“Okay,” you say with a nod, “we’ll just have to find him then. Can you tell me where he usually is at this time?”

She just nods and says brightly, “The Whyte Wyrm!” 

You just blink with understanding, “Well that explains it…” you murmur as you go to start your car and back up. 

“Explains what?” She asks innocently. 

“Where your brother is…” You say calmly as you back out of the parking space and pull out onto the road. 

“You know where he is! Where?!” 

“The police took some Serpents in for questioning about the Ghoulies, it must have just ran longer than expected! I’m sure he’ll be home soon.” The lie falls from your lips easily, no way are you going to tell a kid her brother got arrested at school today for absolutely no reason. It had been a terrifying day with drug dogs roaming the halls and Serpents getting hauled in left and right for wearing a jacket.

“Who is your brother anyway? Maybe I know him? We probably go to school together.” 

“His name is Sweet Pea and he’s the best big brother ever! Do you know him?!” She asks excitedly. 

“Kind of…” you say softly now recognizing the steel in her gaze. You had seen it multiple times in Sweet Pea’s eyes when he’s squaring up for a fight. 

“Oh boy…” you mutter to yourself as you continue down the road vaguely wondering what you have gotten yourself into. 

“Are you okay if I take you back to my house while I go get your brother?” You glance back at her in time to see her nod as she pulls a sucker out of her bag. It’s amazing how quickly a child can trust and how quickly their carefree nature returns when his happens.

“That’s fine!” she chirps before popping it into her mouth. 

“Good…” you say as you take the necessary turns to get you to your place. Your house is one of the few actual houses on the southside. It’s still small and isn’t really that much bigger than a trailer but it’s well taken care of and it’s home. 

Your mom meets you at the door as she looks at the little girl dutifully following along behind you in confusion. 

“Honey? What’s… WHAT HAPPENED?!” She exclaims as she looks down at your arms to see the cuts littering them.

“It’s a long story…” you sigh as you walk into the house, exhaustion evident in your slumped shoulders and tone. 

*~*~*~

After cleaning up your arms and putting some bandaids over the larger of the cuts you change your clothes and bring them downstairs with the hope of salvaging your jeans. They are expensive and you would rather not have to waste money on a new pair if it can be helped. Then again you muse as you put some stain remover on the red splotches, you could have some fun with them if you have to. Walking into the kitchen you see her sitting at the table happily munching on a sandwich and chips and realize that you don’t actually know her name. 

“I just realized… I don’t know your name…” you say hesitantly as you glance up at your mom. 

“Everyone calls me Gumdrop!” she says with her mouth full of food. 

You just nod and introduce yourself before you pull your mom away to tell her what happened as she continues to gobble up all that’s in front of her. You vaguely wonder when the last time she had enough to eat, you have no idea about her and Sweet Pea’s living situation.

“I can’t believe you would put yourself in danger like that!” you mom whisper yells from the living room. 

“Are you telling me you would have just let 3 thugs harass a little girl!?” you argue back.

“Of course not! But I would have been smart about it! You should have called the cops!”

“I wasn’t really thinking that far in advance mom! These guys are unpredictable and dangerous! I just wanted to get her away from them!”

“Not by putting yourself in danger!”

“Look we are both fine, I took care of it.” 

You watched as your mother’s mouth formed the thin line that says that she couldn’t argue your point but she didn’t like it.

“You are your exactly like your father…” she mutters as she walks back toward the kitchen resigned for now. 

You follow hastily behind and touch her shoulder to stop her from entering the kitchen just yet. 

“I’m going to go get her brother.”

“And where is he?” she asks with disapproval.

“...jail…?” You say with a wince.

“And why is that?” she’s calm, but it is that calm that your mom gets when you know she is mad but she can’t be mad because there are other people present, but you know when you get home all hell is breaking loose, probably on your ass…

“Look it wasn’t his fault! The police just busted up into the high school today and started snatching up Serpent’s like cookies at a bake sale!” You flail your arms around to get your point across. 

‘Why am I defending him?!’ you yell in your head as you hold your mom’s gaze. 

“Serpent?!” she hisses.

“Ummm… What?! It’s not like I’m friends with him?! I literally just saved his sister from a pack of Ghoulies!”

“What is a Ghoulie?!”

“A rival gang?”

She just fixes you with a look that screams motherly annoyance, “I’m not paying for this.” 

“I know…” you say with dejection as you hold up the cosmetic bag full of money. 

“I’ll be back soon…” you say as you turn and make your way out the door.


	2. Girl Meets Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..... I wasn’t really thinking of future plot points when I wrote the first chapter. I do better when I freeform write. My head does not do structure in that way…. Anyway, the raid on the school mentioned in chapter one is a different raid from the one shown in the school. We will just say it’s before Jughead get’s there… I intend to have fun with that dynamic…
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!!

Of course you had known Sweep Pea for years in the way you know a classmate. You know his name. You know his reputation. You know his face. You know he can be violent and is one of the most revered Serpents of the bunch. You know you want to stay on his good side and despite the fact that he can be a jerk, he isn’t unnecessarily mean or violent. He can take care of himself and his own but he isn’t cruel. All in all Sweet Pea is tall, dark and handsome with a heaping side of trouble. You decided a long time ago that you would not go out of your way to be noticed by him or his friends. Everyone deals with Southside High in their own way, and you have chosen anonymity. You would much prefer to be overlooked in all the drama and left very much alone. 

So how you’ve found yourself staring at the front of the Sheriff’s office holding a cosmetic bag full of cash for the bail of a classmate you don’t even really know or associate with is beyond you. 

No you know how it’s happened…

You are your father’s daughter and watching someone harass a kid is completely unacceptable. 

“No fuckin’ shame,” you mutter angerily under your breath as you stomp towards the door. 

You realize instantly you’ve never been at the police station before and you honestly have no idea what you are doing or if you even have enough money for this. You’re kind of hoping against hope that someone else has already bailed him out. 

“Need something kid?” question comes from a middle aged man sitting behind a glass window. You had missed him as you curiously looked around the front of the police station. 

You clutch the bag tighter to your body in uncertainty as you take a hesitant step toward him. 

“Umm… I’m here for Sweet Pea?” you ask rather than tell the man. 

He lets out a snort and shakes his head with a sardonic smile on his face. 

Hopes and dreams squashed: check!

“So now he has his flavor of the week bailing him out? Classy.” 

Your head jerks back indignation, “I am not his ‘flavor of the week!’”

“You keep telling yourself that honey… And if you’re lucky you won’t get knocked up with his kid…” He mutter as he types something on the computer. 

“I am not sleeping with him!” you practically shriek in offense.

He looks you up and down in obvious disbelief, “Of course not sweetheart…”

His tone is condescending as if he doesn’t believe a word that is coming out of your month, because he doesn’t...

“Ju-just tell me how much it is to bail him out!” you stutter out your face red from embarrassment and anger. 

“ Three Hundred.”

“Three hundred dollars?” you say with annoyance dripping from your voice as you set the bag on the counter and begin to sort out the bills. 

“He better pay me back…” you mutter to yourself as you gather the appropriate amount before thrusting it at the man behind the glass. 

He sends you a tight lipped smile as he takes the money. 

“You know… I don’t know how those Serpent scumbags manage to get nice girls like you at their beck and call.”

“I am not at his beck and call,” you say through gritted teeth hoping he would hurry with the paperwork. 

“Must be that bad boy thing… The thrill of sneaking around with a guy mommy and daddy don’t approve of,” he continues as if you had said nothing. 

“Really?” you mutter more to yourself than the asshole sitting in front of you blocking out the rest of what he was saying. 

“Sign here,” he says as he hands you a stack of papers and you sign them quickly before you run from the room in pure anger and embarrassment. This better be worth it... 

He then hits a button and indicates a door on the left hand side. You quickly follow him through the door and down a hallway. He unlocks another door and walks into a room with the holding cell that is holding Sweet Pea and a couple of other Serpents you know from school. 

“Hey Sweet Pea your girlfriend is here to save the day.” 

Sweet Pea turns around in obvious confusion before his eyes land on you. 

“What the fu-?”

“I know! I know you told me not to do this Sweets but I really didn’t have much of a choice…” you cut him off and send him a meaningful look. 

“Since when are you hooking up with (F/N) (L/N)?” asks one of the guys.

“None of your damn business.” Sweet Pea says through grit teeth before turning his gaze back to you. His stare is intense and untrustworthy. You can see the tension in his shoulders, he doesn’t know why you’re here and he doesn’t trust you. His eyes never leave yours as he sticks his cuffed hands through the bars to be unlocked. 

You look down to the floor in nervousness as you heard the clank of the lock and the squeak of the cell door as it opens. 

“Babe! You didn’t have to come get me! I know you worry, but I would have been fine!” He says as he walks up and pulls you into a hug. To anyone else it would be affectionate. A boyfriend hugging his girlfriend after a long day.

“The fuck are you doing here?” The question is sharp and full of hidden promises you don’t want to think about. 

“I found your sister as she was walking home.” He pulls back and looks into your eyes with a serious intensity you’ve never experienced before. This boy is a wolf and you can practically feel him ready himself to strike. 

“How’s Gumdrop? Not worried I hope?” The smile on his lips is boyish in nature, but there is a hidden edge to it. 

“She’s fine,” you say with a disarming smile, “She’s really excited to see you. Are you ready to go?” 

You pull out of his arms and turn toward the door and Sweet Pea follows behind, you can hear the heavy footfalls of his boots on the floor. The thump sounds more like impending doom now and you’re wondering if this is such a good idea. 

You wordlessly walk towards your car and unlock it, you would have laughed at watching Sweet Pea scrunch to fit into your tiny car if the situation wasn’t full of unanswered questions and unexpected reactions. 

“Listen (L/N) I know you aren’t stupid enough to be threatening my baby sister right now…” he starts the second you two are in the car. 

Your eyes widen in unrestrained horror “NO! Not at all! I found her getting harassed by some assholes as she was walking home and stepped in!” you indicating the bandaged cuts on your arms as proof. 

His eyes dart down to you arm and he gently takes one in his large hands to examine it. 

“Who the fuck did this?” His voice is eerily calm as he continues to look down at your arm. 

“The Ghoulies,” you whisper and wince a moment later as he slams his hand on your dash before his hands go to his hair. 

“Did they hurt Gumdrop?” His voice is a forced calm as he continues to hold his head in his hands as if he’s afraid of the answer. 

“No, I stepped in before anything could happen to her. I don’t know what they were planning but I refused to let them hurt her.”

You watched as the tension leaked from his body as he tossed his head back running his fingers back through his already disheveled hair. 

“Why are you doing this?” he asks turning back to look at you. 

“Are you serious?! Some asshole Ghoulies were harassing a little girl on the side of the road. No way in hell I’m just going to stand by and watch that happen.”

A surprised smirk slides across his face as he looks down at his hands and shakes his head in something like disbelief. 

“Where is she now?”

“My house… I didn’t want to take her back to your place in case the Ghoulies know where you live and tried something since they knew you weren’t home. I’m assuming that’s why they tried something to begin with.”

“That was smart,” he says with a nod.

“Tell that to my mother…” you say in derision as you put the keys in the ignition and start the car. He just snorts in amusement before letting a slight smile slid onto his lips.

“Is your bike still at the school? I can take you to pick it up then we can head to my place to pick up Gumdrop?”

“Yeah that works,” he says before he turns his head to look out the window. 

“I’ll pay you back for that by the way…” he says tossing his head to indicate the bail money. 

“Oh! Yeah… Whenever you can is fine! No rush….” you say calmly as you keep your eyes on the road ahead of you. This is awkward… 

“And thanks for… taking care of Gumdrop… you know… not everyone would have done that.”

You glance at him before you lick your lips and answer, “Maybe they should… Less things might be wrong with the world if we showed people kindness every once in a while. 

He bit out a harsh laugh, “You sure you’re from around here?”

You roll your eyes and shrug, “I’m not delusional, I know that’s not how things are, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do what I can when I can.”

“Whatever you say babydoll.” 

“Babydoll?” you ask your voice dripping with dry annoyance. 

“What?! It suits you!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more offended in my life… And I had to listen to that Deputy go on and on about bad boys and good girls.” 

“What?” he asks with an incredulous look. 

“I don’t know… something about bad boys getting good girls to do their bidding or something like that…”

He sends you sly smirk, “Well it’s not entirely false...”

You glance over in enough time to see his raise his eyebrows at you suggestively. 

You frown in annoyance, “I didn’t do this for you, I did this for Gumdrop. She doesn’t deserve to have her brother in jail.”

“Oh… I’m going to have so much fun with you…”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“You’ll see Babydoll…”

You pull up next to a row of bikes that have yet to be claimed by their owners. 

“Get out… I’m regretting my decisions more and more by the minute.”

“You love this…” he says with a shiteating grin. 

You turn and shoot him your most intimidating, which wasn’t much to him if the way his smile got wider was any indication, glare that you could muster.

“Get out before I slam your head into my dashboard…” you grumble the threat mockingly. 

He holds up his hands in surrender before giving you a boyish smile and getting out of your car. 

~*~*~

You pull into your driveway with Sweet Pea following close behind you. Almost the moment you cut the engine the front door swings open and Gumdrop comes running towards her brother. 

“Gummy Bear!” you hear Sweet Pea yell as he grabs his sister up in his arms and hugs her tightly to his chest while twirling her around. She giggles and squeals in delight before he sets her down and she rushes over to you throwing her arms happily around your waist. You’re a little aback by the gesture and awkwardly hug her back. 

She beams up at you, “Thanks for getting my brother for me, and chasing away the bad men. They were scary… and not nice at all.”

“Anytime kid,” you say with a smile while ruffling her hair. 

You glance over at the way Sweet Pea has tensed up at the mention of the earlier events. You can tell it really bothers him that he wasn’t there for his sister.

“Hey Pea?” Gumdrop asks glancing over at her brooding brother. 

“Yeah, Gummy Bear?” 

“(Y/N)’s mommy said we could stay for dinner. Can we?!” 

You hold back a smile at the puppy dog eyes she’s sending Sweet Pea’s way. Watching the big bad Serpent Sweet Pea wrapped around the tiny finger of his baby sister is definately the highlight of your night. Sweet Pea puts his hands on his hips and hangs his head, almost as if he trying to avoid Gumdrop and her puppy eyes. He fails. 

“We shouldn’t bother them anymore Drop... “ 

“But she said!!!”

“Sweet Pea I’m sure it’s fine.” you interject to show him some mercy. 

“SEE!! (Y/N) says its fine! She likes me and she wants to eat dinner with me!”

“Does she now? Did she say that?”

“She didn’t have to!” You let out a laugh at the sassy 11 year old in front of you and almost lose it when she sticks her tongue out at Sweet Pea. Then she grabs your hand and starts to pull you to the house. 

“COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! THERE’S CAKE!”

“Come on Sweet Pea!” you call over your shoulder, “You’ve lost this round.”

“Yeah… Yeah… I’m coming…” 

You can’t help but snicker at his reluctance as he follows you into the house. Never in a million years would you think you would be having dinner Sweet Pea and his sister. I guess that just goes to show you that you never know what’s going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think by commenting!


	3. Girl Meets Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get threatened and make some new friends!

It is a well known fact that the animal in the most danger is the weak one. The one separated from the herd. Carnivores such as lions and cheetahs will stalk their prey before they strike, picking out the weakest and therefore easiest to kill. Never in your life have you felt more like a antelope...

Walking down the hallways of Southside High the tension rolling off of the Ghoulies is tangible. The air is so thick with resentment you could cut it with a knife and eat it with a fork. You inhale a shaky breath as you try for the third time this morning to open your locker. The eyes burning into your back making you nervous. The sound of heavy footfalls may as well be plugged into an amp because the sound is in stereo to you. You hear the rustle of his clothes as a hand slams into your locker above your head, and it takes everything in you not to flinch. You can feel his breath on the back of your neck as he releases a heavy exhale, the scent almost making you gag. You stiffen as his chest presses into your back and in the next moment his words choke you. 

“You’ve made your bed little girl, you better be prepared to lie in it.”

“What are you talking about?” you spit sounding braver than you feel. 

“That stunt you pulled… you broke Sawhead’s knee cap… and we can’t let some little girl make a fool of us.”

You square your shoulders and turn towards the male behind you, your dad’s words echoing in your head. 

‘Most that want to pick a fight with you are cowards and will cow down if you stand up to them. You feel nervous, you never show it. You stand up tall and throw it right back at them.”

You look him dead in the eye, “I took on three of your boys, what makes you think I’m scared of you? I broke his knee cap because he was waving a knife in my face...what do you think I’ll do to you for threatening me?”You asked the questions innocently in an almost chipper voice, which only served to make the veiled threat all the more surprising. 

He smirked in response, “You keep talking girly… See where that gets you… And don’t think the Serpents will be able to help you out, they can’t stand up to us if a little girl is protecting their brats for them.”

You hear a chorus of laughter as the other Ghoulies cackle behind him as he turns away from you. You know you can’t back down now, but you don’t know what to do. You’ve lived in almost complete anonymity up until now. You don’t live in a world of turf wars, gang fights and street racing. This is the not your element and that continues to be true with each step you take. Will you be forced to constantly look over your shoulder at school and around town? You feel your chest begin to tighten up and your breathing become irregular, your thoughts are racing and you begin to shake. With your body and mind going into overdrive mode you rush towards the nearest bathroom and pray no one is in there. 

Rushing to the sink you turn on the faucet and splash cool water on your face and just breath with your hands covering your face. Your thoughts are racing so fast that you can’t hold a thought in your head before it is overshadowed by an even worse one. 

You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to be a target for a gang! You broke a guys knee cap! And now his gang of drug dealer friends are going to be coming after you! 

‘What have I done?’ you question yourself as it becomes hard to breathe. 

“You okay?” questions an unsure voice behind you. 

You glance over your shoulder your eyes landing on the girl who spoke. You recognize her instantly as Toni Topaz, she’s in your science and math class and last but not least a Serpent that hangs out with Sweep Pea. 

You just shake your head and collapse into sobs of panic. 

“Hey! Hey, it’s okay!” she says as she rushes towards you, her arms circling your form and pulling you against her in a hug. 

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

You shake your head ‘no’ and just cry harder as all the thoughts swarm you. 

She continues to hold you for a moment, murmur soothing things to you as you deal with the onslaught of emotions you are feeling. Once you have calmed down enough to talk to her, you mutter one thing. 

“The Ghoulies.”

“The Ghoulies? Did they threaten you?” 

You pull back and wipe your eyes before you head to a stall to grab some toilet paper to blow your nose. Once you’re able to breathe properly again and you’ve calmed down significantly you tell Toni what happened in the hallway a few minutes ago. 

“What if they go after my friends?” you ask in a small voice. 

“Look everything is going to be fine, Ghoulies have short attention spans and they probably won’t even remember what you did to piss them off in a week anyway.” She says flippantly. 

“I hope so…” you mutter.

“What did you do anyway?” 

“I broke one of their guy’s knee cap…” 

She just looked at you for a moment before busting out laughing, “Girl you broke a knee cap and you’re worried about them?!” 

You just shrug, “It was an accident… I was protecting myself when it happened.”

“What did you do to get on their bad side then? Or did they just come out of nowhere?”

“They were attacking a little girl and I stepped in to save her.”

“Wait a second… Are you the girl that bailed Sweet Pea out of jail? And took care of Gumdrop?”

“Oh, did Sweet Pea tell you about that?”

“Yeah! Monty was talking shit about how Sweet Pea has a girlfriend now. He was being kind of an ass so Sweets punched him in the jaw to shut him up. That doesn’t mean we weren’t curious though…” She says with an innocently wicked smile. 

“So you got it out of him?”

“Loose lips sink ships… His become loose around his third beer.”

“Good to know.” 

“So you think you’re up for going to class or do you need another minute?” Toni asks in a soft voice. 

“I think I’ll be okay… It was a panic attack…” you say feeling a little embarrassed by how you were acting. 

“Cool! Let’s go!” she says linking her arm through yours, “By the way, you won’t have to worry about the Ghoulies.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re with us now!”

“I don’t understand…” 

“Not only did you take care of Gumdrop and save her from those Ghoulies, but you also bailed Sweets out of jail. No Serpent is going to forget that and we take care of our own.” 

“Wow really? You mean it’s more than just street fights and drag racing?”

“Way more. Besides, once we’ve told Sweet Pea what that Ghoulie trash said to you, he’s going to kick their ass.” 

“Really?! Why?”

“He threatened you and you’re Serpent by association now, so that has to be dealt with. Aaaannnd Gumdrop apparently didn’t shut up about how cool you were all night, and Sweets will do anything for Gumdrop.”

“Also, good to know…”

At this point you’ve reached your first period class, even though it’s about half over now you walk in and take your seat with Toni behind you, the teacher not even acknowledging your presence at all. Azelia, a friend of yours, glances at the you and mouths. 

‘Why did you walk in with her?’

‘Long story…’ you mouth back. 

When class is over Toni links her arm with yours and sends you a smile that you return as she leads you out of the classroom. 

It’s as you’re walking down the hall that you feel a heavy weight press down on your shoulder and you glance over to see Fangs Fogarty smiling down at you. 

“So you’re the kick ass girl that broke a Ghoulie’s knee cap?”

“For there being only 5 people presence, including me, a lot of people know what happened…”

“Weelllll it’s not everyday that a civilian gets the better of three Ghoulies by themselves.” Toni interjects. 

“Civilian? What is this The Avengers: Southside?”

“That would be the best musical…” Fangs mutters under his breath as he stares off into space for a moment imagining it. 

You and Toni laugh at Fangs before he sends you a smile. 

“I see you’re making friends,” says a familiar voice from behind you. 

“They don’t really give you much of a choice…” you say with a smile as you glance over your shoulder and into Sweet Pea’s eyes. 

You avert your eyes quickly as Fangs gives you a light playful punch on your arm. 

“Trust me, you won’t be able to resist us before this is all over,” Fangs says with an attractive smirk. 

“If you say so!” you say flippantly as you pull away to head to your next class of the day Sweet Pea following behind you as you enter the Science room. 

“So…” Sweet Pea begins as he takes the seat behind you, “Gumdrop is quite taken with you.”

You laugh in response, “Is she now? Well she’s a cool kid, if you ever need me to pick her up from school I don’t mind.”

“Yeah? You don’t have to do that you know.”

“Of course I don’t have to, but I want to.”

He nods his head, “Having a girl she can talk to would be good for her…” he mutters more to himself than to you. 

“Are you guys on your own?” You ask softly.

“Uhhh yeah… Dad split not too long after Gumdrop was born and mom bailed last year… Said she couldn’t do it anymore. We came home from school one day and there was a note.” He says it with a shrug as if it doesn’t bother him, but you know better. No way a guy could be on his own after being abandoned by his family and left with the care of his sister like that and be okay. 

“Wow… How are you so nonchalant about that?” you ask in slight amazement.

“It’s the way things are.” He mutters with another shrug while turning his attention to the front of the classroom. The conversation is clearly over as he pulls out his phone as the teacher starts demanding everyone turn to page 394. 

You turn back to the front of the classroom and attempted to listen to the teacher as she drones on about mitochondria. 

‘Yes,’ you think sardonically, ‘the structure of cells is very useful right now…’

Class ends slowly with you only wanting to fall asleep 3 times due to how monotone and boring the teacher is. It’s now finally time for lunch. 

You’re surprised when Sweet Pea throws his arm around your shoulder as you walk out the classroom door. 

“So is the touchy feely-ness part of being a Serpent or do you guys just really like me?” you ask glancing up at him. 

He smirks at your question, “We’re letting the Ghoulies know you’re ours.”

“Yours? Wow… testosterone is a thing…”

“Look this is the way things are… You don’t like it you’re on your own.”

“Fine… but I draw the line at getting peed on…” You sigh.

He just laughs in response as you both walk into the cafeteria. He’s leading you over to the fenced area that the Serpents usually sit in but you stop short. 

“I’m going to eat with my friends,” you say calmly.

He raises his eyebrows at you, “I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“We’re in the cafeteria I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll see you in third?”

He furrows his brows, “You really need to come sit with us.”

“Can my friends come too?”

“That’s not how this works…”

“So my friends aren’t protected?”

“Your friends aren’t a target, you are.”

“What makes you think they won’t go after my friends to get to me?” you ask anger seeping into your voice. 

“You don’t get it! This isn’t about them, it’s about you. They don’t care about your friends they care about the girl who broke one guys knee cap and knocked the other unconscious.”

“I’ll be fine then,” you mutter your voice icy. 

He just scoffs and turns towards the table where rest of the serpents are sitting at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear what you think! I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Girl Meets Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a close call, Sweet Pea is not taking anyone's shit.

Sweet Pea is well known around Southside High School as being violent and volatile. This reputation has afforded him some perks among the student population. Mostly, people just want to be on his good side, because if you are on his good side, you aren’t on his bad side… understand?

A hand slamming against the locker above your head startles you from your thoughts as you go to pull your History book out of your locker. 

“What was that for?” you exclaim, mostly in fear, as you glare up at Sweet Pea standing behind. 

“They threatened you?” His voice was the same strained calm you remember from yesterday. 

“Umm… yes?”

He slams his hand against the locker again swearing under his breath before he looks over his shoulder at the onlookers and snarls at them to ‘Get out of here.’

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks turning his attention back to you. 

“I haven’t really had a chance, and I didn’t know I was supposed to?” your answer comes out more as a question than an actual statement. 

“Well,” he says through gritted teeth, “if you had sat with us at lunch it would have been you telling me and not Toni.”

“Look, this may be your world, but it’s not mine. I don’t know how anything works! I don’t want to know how anything works okay? I want to come to school, keep my head down and go home. I didn’t ask for this.”

Sweet Pea forces himself to calm down a little bit at your words. 

“I know this isn’t your thing okay? That makes listening to me when I tell you something all the more important. Promise me you’ll listen to me from now on okay? I can’t help you if you don’t.”

“Why are you so determined to help me anyway?”

“Because I don’t know what would have happened to Gumdrop if you hadn’t been there to protect her. She’s the only person I have left and I’ll be damned if something is going to happen to her. So I owe you, consider my protection as payment for saving Gumdrop.”

Nobody ever talks about the fact that Sweet Pea is a good person underneath all of the anger and resentment that he harbors. 

 

You grab your things and stand as quickly as you can, making for the door you head out into the crowded halls of Southside High. You’re chatting idly with your friend Sarah before a hand clamps down on your shoulder and practically pulls you backward and spins you around to see Sweet Pea. 

“Hey, you think you can pick up Gumdrop today? I’ve got some business to take of and she would love to see you again.”

“Oh! Yeah sure, I don’t mind.” 

“Cool,” he says as he hands you a twenty, “Why don’t you take her to Pop’s? It’s on me.”

“Okay! I’m sure she will love that.”

“Thanks (Y/N),” he says before turning on his heel and walking in the opposite direction. 

“Since when do you know Sweet Pea?” Sarah asks as you turn back to her.

“Trust me, it’s a long story.”

 

The drive to the middle school is uneventful and when you get there Gumdrop is excited to see you.

“Hey!!” She squeals as she climbs into the back seat. 

“Hi! Sweet Pea asked me to pick you up! Is that okay?”

“Yeah!! Hey, can we go get a milkshake?”

“Actually, I was planning on taking you to Pop’s anyway!” 

“Yay!” she cheers as you pull out of the school and onto the road. 

You pull into the parking lot and head inside to find a booth. 

“What can I get you ladies today?” questions a waiter a couple of minutes after you sit down. 

“Can I get a Cheese burger with Sweet Potato fries and a chocolate malt shake please?”

“And for the little lady?”

“I’ll take chicken fingers and fries and a chocolate milkshake please!”

“Coming right up!” he says before he walks away to put the order in. 

“So are you my brother dating now?” Questions Gumdrop innocently with a wicked glint in her eye. 

“Why would you think that?”

“You kinda smell like his cologne.”

“I do not!”

“No you do… It’s okay if you are! I think big brother needs someone to make him happy. He’s been really stressed out lately.”

“Well we aren’t dating,” you say with finality. 

“Sure you aren’t…” she says flippantly, as if she doesn’t believe you. 

The food comes a few minutes later and you spend the rest of the time getting to know her and playing stupid games like ‘I Spy.’ 

Pulling up in front of Sweet Pea and Gumdrops trailer you let her out and hand her the food you had gotten for Sweet Pea in case he needed dinner. 

“Thanks for the fun afternoon (Y/N)! Can we do it again soon?” 

“Of course!”

As you are driving home you notice a pair of headlights speeding closer and closer to you. They are approaching at an alarming rate and don’t seem to have any intention of slowing down.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” you exclaim as you mash the gas and accelerate your car. It doesn’t seem to do much good as the car continues to get closer and closer to you. You can hear the distant whooping and hollering of the people in the car and you know who it is. 

“Oh no you don’t,” you say to yourself as you take a sharp right leading them away from your house. You mash the gas even harder if possible and almost wreck as another car jolts out from a side street joining the chase. You quickly gain control and take a left turn, you know where you need to go. 

You fly through the dimly lit streets of the Southside just barely keeping ahead of the Ghoulies on your tail. One of the cars bumps you from behind causing the car to jolt. You correct the wheel before it can send you into an abandoned building on the side of the road. 

You’re about a mile from the Whym when a bump sends you into the side of the road and careening towards the other side, you slam on the brakes to keep from going into the ditch. You know if you stay in the car you’re going to be trapped and it would be over. 

“Fuck that!” you yell as you grab your bat from the floorboard and get out of the car and start to run toward the Wyrm. You know you aren’t fast enough, you know you aren’t going to make it. You can hear someone gaining on you so at the last second you turn and hit them with the bat sending them to the ground. You bring the bat down onto their head to knock them unconscious. 

“Get her bat!” you hear someone yell. 

You refuse to give them a chance and just continue to swing relentlessly at the other three guys left. You bring the bat down hard on a guy’s arm and hear him cry out in pain before you bring the bat down in an arc and hit him upside the head again. It’s when someone grabs your arm and another grabs the bat from your hand that you get frantic. You kick your legs out before you go limp from exhaustion. 

“You’re done, you bitch.” 

You hang your head your lungs screaming as you try to catch your breath and think of a way out of this. 

“We’re going to have fun with you as payback for all the trouble you’ve caused us,” murmurs the guy holding you with a low husky voice sending alarm through your body. 

“Right in front of her boyfriend’s hang out too!” Laughs the other. 

You don’t even have time to think as you bring your head back and smash it into the guy’s nose that’s holding you. He drops you and you rush headlong at the guy in front of you tackling him to the ground and digging your thumbs into his eyes. 

He screams in agony as the other guy goes to grab you from behind.

“Hey!” yells a voice from behind you, “Touch her and you’ll wish you were dead.”

You look behind you to see Sweet Pea with several other Serpents standing behind him. Sweet Pea walks forward and punches him in the jaw sending him to the ground before he grabs him and starts to wail on him. The other Serpents are going after the last guy as he tries to run, but is still having a hard time seeing. When all is said and done and the Serpents are picking up the guys you knocked and hauling them off, Sweet Pea rushes up to you, your shaking from fear and adrenaline as he pulls you up and starts to lead you to the Whyte Wyrm. Toni is beside you in a moment and she’s wrapped your arm around her shoulder to help steady you. 

“Damn girl… We’re gonna have to get you a jacket before this is all over. Not many girls could take on 4 Ghoulies by themselves,” says Toni. 

You just groan in reply, too exhausted to say or do anything else. When you finally make it to the wyrm they set you into a chair and Toni starts to look at your cuts and bruises. 

Sweet Pea hasn’t said a thing and from the looks of it there is a storm brewing. His eyes are so dark they are almost black and if you look at him hard enough you can see him shaking with restraint. 

“Hey Pea! You okay?” Toni asks as she dabs an antiseptic soaked cotton ball on a cut near your eye. 

“No… I’m not okay… No way in hell am I letting them get away with this.”

“What are you going to do?” You ask softly, wincing as pain shoot through your head from where you head butted that guy. 

“You’ll see.”

 

Toni takes you home that night promising that the Serpents are going to get your car out of the ditch for you. 

“Don’t worry, Sweets is going to take care of everything tomorrow.” 

You just nod still in shock about the events that transpired just a couple of hours ago. You don’t say anything to your parents as you rush up the stairs to you room. Your cat follows behind and curls up beside you as if she could sense your distress. She purrs and kneads the blanket before gently butting your hand with her head and licking your arm begging for attention. You can hear her purrs getting louder as you give in and pet her, she takes the opportunity to rub her face happily against your hand. 

Laying on your bed you take a few minutes to process what all has happened within the last two days. TWO DAYS! You groan as you rest your arm over your eyes and think about the look in Sweet Pea’s eyes. 

“They disrespected me and the Serpents when they went after you tonight and they are going to pay.” 

His words echo in your ear and you vaguely wonder what he’s planning. 

After a few moments of wondering you feel your eyelids getting heavy and you fall into an uneasy sleep. 

You’re exhausted the next morning and when you check your clock and you’re running late you can’t bring yourself to care. 

‘Out Front,’ pops up on your screen as you brush your hair. Walking over to the window you see Sweet Pea leaning against his bike his phone in his hand looking down at the screen. 

‘Be out soon,’ you type as you rush to finish getting ready. 

“You didn't have to come and get me!” you say as you walk out the door and toward Sweet Pea. He’s wearing dark jeans a black tee shirt and a green flannel shirt with the buttons are left undone and his black jacket. 

“You have another way of getting to school?” He asks as he hands you a helmet and straddles the bike. 

“I would have figured it out,” you shrug knowing you hadn’t even thought of how you were getting to school today. 

“Whatever… Just get on babydoll.”

You roll your eyes before you hop onto the back of his bike and loosely wrap your arms around his waist. He doesn’t say anything as he takes off down the street. You tighten your hold on him in fear and feel his chest rumble with laughter. 

“Not funny!” you pout as he just laughs at you. 

The ride to school is over before you know it and you’re hopping off of the bike. Sweet Pea throws his arm around your shoulders again and takes off towards the school. You roll your eyes but don’t say anything after what happened last night. You’ve decided to trust that Sweet Pea does indeed have your wellbeing at heart. At least his reaction to what happened would lead you to think so. 

“You know…” Sweet Pea starts, “You’ve practically earned your jacket taking out all these Ghoulies.” 

You roll your eyes, “Self preservation and panic are a far cry from knowingly kicking someone’s ass.”

“Well you do an awfully good job for someone who says they don’t know shit about kicking someone’s ass.”

“My dad taught me. He wanted me to make sure I could take care of myself. I’ve just never had to use it until now.”

“We found your bat by the way, and got your car out of the ditch. One of the guys said he’d fix it for you no charge since the Ghoulies wrecked it.”

“Wow… When you guys say you take care of your own, you mean it.”

“Hell yeah we do,” he says with a boyish smile. 

“Ohhh…. Looks like Southside High has a new power couple…. Good thing I love taking snakes down a couple of notches.” 

You glance behind you and see the one of the guys from last night. He has a dark knot on his head and he’s glaring daggers at the two of you. You feel Sweet Pea push you behind him and watch as he squares his shoulders at the guy. 

“What are you talking about? She didn’t get the message through your thick skull last night? Or do you just not remember?” Sweet Pea asks while cracking his knuckles. 

You look down trying to hide your smile as you notice that you got him better than you thought you did. 

“What you think that’s funny girly?”

“You don’t talk to her, you talk to me,” Sweet Pea says taking a step towards him making him take a step back. “You even look in her direction again and you won’t be standing back up, you got that?”

His voice is low and menacing, it sends a shiver down your spine as you step up to Sweet Pea and rest your hand on his arm. 

“Come on… I need to get to second period…” He glances down at you before fixing the Ghoulie with a disgusted look and turning around. 

“So the Great Sweet Pea has been whipped then?”

You don’t even have time to react as Sweet Pea whips around and lands a punch to the guy’s stomach making him double over; he finishes him with an uppercut to the jaw. Sweet Pea stands up to his full height and rolls his shoulders to relieve the tension. You can hardly believe your eyes as you look at the guy lying on the floor blood leaking from his nose. 

Sweet Pea puts his hand on the small of your back and guides you away from the scene as if nothing happened as a ton of other students snap the guy lying on the ground. It takes minutes for the whole school to know that you aren’t to be messed with or they will be dealing with Sweet Pea.


	5. Girl Meets Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Pea encourages you to live in a little.

In nature, lone wolves generally do not survive long. This is due in large part to the fact that it takes multiple wolves to hunt the large prey that they favor. It is also dangerous, lone wolves are vulnerable and need a pack to help aid in protection from threats. 

Which is why... 

“You’re sitting with us now.” Sweet Pea interrupts as he gazes down at you with his arms crossed. You glance up from your lunch, your friends sending you equally confused looks as they look up at the hulking figure above you.

“What?! No.” You exclaim in defiance. You had snuck away from the Serpents before lunch so you could maintain some semblance of normality in your upside down life. 

“That wasn’t a suggestion Babydoll.” he says before he picks up your tray and grabs the back of your chair pulling you across the cafeteria floor in front of everybody. 

“Hey! What are you doing?!” you exclaim as you grab the seat of your chair to keep from face planting onto the dirty floor, and picking your feet up so your shoes don’t get scuffed. 

“SWEET PEA!” 

When he reaches the Serpent’s table he turns you around and pushes you towards the table in the empty space and puts your tray in front of you. 

The other serpents are cracking up as you look over at them, which if you’re being honest just makes them laugh harder instead of combusting into flames like you want them to. 

“I am so offended by you right now.” you spit at him as you primly turn back to your food. 

You don’t miss the shiteating grin on his face has Fangs punches him on his arm. 

You heave out a sigh, “Boys…”

“Hey, you’re the one who agreed to listen to me.”

“I did no such thing…” you mutter in annoyance. 

He scoffs and rolls his eyes at you, “Why are you being so difficult about this? I’m trying to help you, or have you forgotten what happened last night?”

You scowl not wanting to think about your close call. 

“Shut up…”you mutter in annoyance as you turn to your food and start to attempt to eat. 

“So, we’re going to get the Ghoulies right?” questions Fangs from the other side of Sweet Pea.

“Hell yeah we are!” says Sweet Pea as he rests his forearms on the table before he steals a fry off your plate. You give him a side glance and subtly scoot your tray away from him. Nobody steals yours fries.

“I’ve got an idea.”

“You’re not storming the hideout to beat them up, there are too many,” you say nonchalantly as you stuff a fry into your mouth. 

Sweet Pea glances at you, “How do you know that is plan?”

“You’re a hit first ask questions later kinda guy… Very useful in street brawls… very stupid in plans of attack.”

“Well that isn’t my idea…” he grumbles.

“Then what is?” laughs Toni in amusement as she pops one of her own fries into her mouth. 

“Well, we’re going to sneak into the Junkyard and start-”

“Start what? Cause I know you aren’t talking about going into the spider’s web and starting a fight.”

“If we did do that it would send a message...” he says with a contemplative look on his face.

“What message? Come and get it?!” you argue back. 

“Between the two of us, who knows what they are talking about?”

“Clearly not you…” you grumble back at him and swat his hand away as he goes to steal another one of your fries. 

“Look,” he says in exasperation, “I have a plan.”

“Huh… famous last words…” you say with a smirk.

He just glares in reply as the warning bell rings for classes to start back. 

The rest of the day is uneventful for once as you meander from class to class, usually flanked by a Serpent even when Sweet Pea couldn’t be by your side. It’s the last class of the day when you feel the vibration of your phone in your pocket.

Sweet Pea: Headin to the Quarry. You comin’ with?

(Y/N): Yeah sure

Sweet Pea: Cool meet me out front in 5.

(Y/N): School isn’t over for another 30 minutes…”

Sweet Pea: Just get up and lave…

Sweet Pea: Leave*

You roll your eyes as you look down at the phone screen. Seriously? You sigh as you look at the clock, it’s two thirty and you’ve never left early without permission before. 

Sweet Pea: It’s 2:30 on a friday live a little.

You frown down at the message knowing on some level he was right. It wouldn’t really hurt to leave a little early on a Friday this one time.

You stealthily put your things away and excuse yourself to the restroom, discreetly taking your bag with you. 

The teacher wouldn’t even know you never came back. 

You step out onto the front of the school’s entrance and see Sweet Pea and a few others already on their bikes waiting for you. 

“Took you long enough,” he grumbles as he throws you a helmet. 

“Well my last class is on the other side of the school,” you defend yourself as you climb on behind him. Your arms instinctively go around his waist and you grip him tight. It’s only been a few days and yet you already feel comfortable with him. It’s probably because he’s ironically touchy feely, which you weren’t expecting at all. 

The Quarry is a 20 minute drive outside of town and is known as the unofficial hang out of the Serpents. They have been coming here for years, you can see a fire pit with river rock built around the base to keep the flames in. Placed around the fire pit are several fallen trees, the inside carved out to create makeshift benches and cradled in hollowed out stumps raises it off the ground and keeps it steady. Several branch-like sticks are stuck into the ground, no doubt for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Off to the side there is a shabbily built brick grill and a few older picnic tables with the Serpent insignia spray painted on the top. Other odds and ends decorate the area making it entirely Serpent. 

You hop off of Sweet Pea’s bike and explore the area in awe, everyone knows you can’t go to the quarry unless invited by the Serpents. 

“So what do you think?” asks Toni as she walks up behind you. 

“Tell me we are having s’mores!” you exclaim as you raise both hands into the air in excitement. 

She just pulls a bag of marshmallows out of her bag, “Oh we are so having S’more.”

“Yay!” you exclaim before you feel a weight drop down on your shoulder and you turn to see Sweet Pea resting his arm on you. His obvious height making you into a makeshift armrest. 

“Can I help you?” you ask with a smile.

“We need kindling, you wanna help me get some?” he asks with a smile.

“Sure!” you exclaim, “Lead the way!”

He nods and motions for you to follow him into the woods on the outskirts of the makeshift camp site. 

“Do you guys ever camp out here?” you ask as you try not to trip on the underbrush.

“Oh yeah! When summer comes around we’ll spend a few days out here, or the whole gang gets together for barbeques. FP makes the best burgers! Don’t tell anyone… but they may be even better than Pops’.”

“You better be quiet Sweet Pea or Pop Tate will hear you and rain down chocolate fury on you! On second thought, that sounds delicious… keep talking…”

He laughs at you, “You’re such a dork.”

“A hilarious dork,” you shrug.

“Seriously though,” he says as he bends down to grab a smaller branch, “you should come when we do a get together, you’d have fun.”

“Is that allowed?”

“If you’re with me, it is,” he says simply. 

“That simple?”

“Yeah, plus you’ve already proven yourself to be a total badass, so don’t be surprised if some of the older guys start trying to recruit you.”

“Wow, so there actually is recruiting?”

“Totally, if someone shows particular talent for something that could be considered useful and they already have an in, you better believe they want them on our side. Especially lately.”

“What’s been going on lately?”

“The Ghoulies’ number are growing and they are becoming more of a problem. Their leader is all for chaos and destruction. He doesn't reign them in like he should so they are dangerous. We need more people that actually give a shit about what matters instead of people who just street race and fuck shit up.”

You have always know there is more to Sweet Pea than meets the eye, but you feel like you are seeing him for the first time. 

“Its weird to hear you say things like that… Before this week I don’t think I would have thought the Serpents and the Ghoulies were any different. I didn’t know that you guys were a family, but after hanging out with you guys for the past few days and getting to know you all, I know that’s not true. The Serpents are nothing like the Ghoulies. I really do appreciate you protecting me from the Ghoulies like you are,” You say with a soft smile. 

He smiles back at you with his boyish smile, “Well you are unofficially one of us now. Nobody is going to mess with you on my watch.”

“By the way, where is Gumdrop?” you ask curiously.

“Oh she’s spending the night with Fang’s baby sister, they are best friends and in the same grade. Mama Fogarty just picked her and Sophie up from school. She’s going to take them to rent a movie and get all kinds of junk food.”

You smile happily, “OH that sounds like fun! Sleepovers are the best!” you say before grabbing a branch off the forest floor. 

“Well you know we could always have one of our own…” he says raising his eyebrows suggestively at you.

You glance over at him him shock.

“I’m kidding!” he laughs, “The look on your face! Geeze I thought I was better looking than that!”

You just pout in embarrassment before smacking his arm, “That is so not funny!”

“Look babydoll, just admit you want me and this would all be so much easier!”

“Only in your wildest dreams you sasquatch!” you exclaim with a laugh. 

“Oh that hurts,” he says as he covers his heart and feigns pain. 

The two of you continue to joke around and laugh as you gather branches for the fire. When you have enough you walk back over to the campground and Sweet Pea goes to help Fangs build the fire. 

“Hey girl! You want to go with me to grab some food for dinner tonight?”

“Sure!”

The two of you head over to Toni’s bike and hop on. You can already tell that you and Toni will able to get along, she has an easy nature about her. 

“So what’s the deal with you and Sweets?” she asks as you walk through the store grabbing snacks and sides to go with the hot dogs already in the cart. 

“What do you mean?” you ask in confusion, “We’re just friends.”

“Really?” she asks in a voice that screams disbelief. 

“Yes! Just friends.” 

“You’re sure about this.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” you questions with a laugh. 

“I don’t know you two just seem to get along really well. Not everyone can put Pea in his place like you do.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means nobody goes back and forth with him like you do. Most girls are just throwing themselves at him looking for a good lay. He’s more than that…”

“Well… yeah he obviously is… I’m not looking to sleep with him if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s… not what I’m worried about with you…” 

“Huh?” you question in confusion. 

“Nevermind, I just wanted to see where you two you are, he’s taken to you pretty quickly.”

“He has?”

“Oh yeah… Then again, Gumdrop loves you and that definitely helps.”

“Gumdrop is a cool kid,” you say as you grab some water and sodas and throw them into the cart. 

“Yeah she is, she’s like our little sister, but she hasn’t taken to anyone like she has you.”

“Hmmm… wonder why…”

“Well you did totally go mama bear on some Ghoulies for her, that probably helps!”

“God... do not remind me! There is a part of me that still can’t believe that I did that! And then bailed Sweet Pea out of jail!” you say laughing at the memory that seems so far away and yet was only a few days ago. 

“Girl you should have seen the way he laid out Monty after he was talking shit about you.”

“Why was he talking shit about me?”

“Let’s just say Sweets wasn’t having it. He has a really strict honor code and as far as he’s concerned nobody is touching you after how you helped him out.”

You look down in slight embarrassment, you didn’t realize that Sweet Pea was that protective of you. 

“We should hurry back, I bet the boys are hungry,” you say changing the subject. 

She agrees as the two of you pay for your purchases and head back to the quarry. 

 

 

It doesn’t take long for darkness to settle in and the food to be cooked upon the fire that Sweet Pea and Fangs built. A few other Serpents have shown up and everyone was talking and laughing together as they munched on snacks and just relaxed after the week they just had. 

Sweet Pea came and sat down next to you on the bench and casually draped his arm around your shoulders as he continued his conversation with Fangs. 

Suddenly a guy stood upon one of the logs and yelled for everyone’s attention. 

“Well guys it’s the full moon you know what that means!”

You looked around in confusion because, no you do not know what that means. 

“PAINTBALL TIME!!!” he yells as everyone throws their fists into the air and yells. 

“Paintball?” You say turning to Toni in bewilderment.

She just laughs, “Oh trust me this is going to be pretty intense. We break off into teams and the first team to take out the other team wins. It’s a total all out war and battle to the death.”

“Umm… what?”

“Yep no gear either so you get shot it hurts!”

“Oh…”

“Don’t worry princess, I’m sure your knight in shining armor Sweet Pea will make sure nothing happens to you,” mocks a guy from across the fire. 

“Back off Roberts,” growls Sweet Pea as he pulls you closer to him.

“Look dude I don’t know your deal, but I don’t need to be protected from the likes of you. I’m sure Sweet Pea is more than a match for you, but I can handle you myself.”

“We’ll see about that. Loser does the runs for a week and if the princess loses she has to skinny dip in the river for all to see.”

“Fuck you Roberts,” says Sweet Pea as he stands up, “You’re being a dick to her for no reason, what does she even have to do with this?”

He shrugs in reply, “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that Sweetheart.”

“It’s Sweet Pea,” he says menacingly taking a step forward. 

“Whatever,” he says with a wicked smile, “Your Babydoll can take care of herself, you heard her.”

You just squared your shoulder, “Your on, but be prepared for my conditions when you lose.” 

“And they are?”

“Streaking down the Riverdale high football field during the game with Greendale next week.”

“Your on.”


	6. Girl Meets Opposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game is on and Sweet Pea does not like you have planned!

In Sun Tzu’s renowned book The Art of War he states, “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” You aren’t really sure how that is going to help you now, but that’s all you can remember….

Before you even know what is happening you are thrown a paintball gun and Sweet Pea is asking, “Have you ever even played paintball before?”

“What? Like it’s hard?”

Sweet Pea scoffs in annoyance and goes back to teaching you the basics of the paintball gun. 

“It’s got a mean kickback so just brace yourself.” 

“Worse than a normal gun?” You ask. 

“You’ve shot a gun!?”

“No… I’m just curious.”

“Focus…” he sighs before going back to his demonstration. 

“So your princess doesn’t even know how to shoot?” Mocks Rogers.

“Shut it asshole!” Roars Sweet Pea before shoving your paintball gun back into your hands and picking up his own.

“Why are you so upset?”

“Why are you not upset?” he counters looking down at you.

You shrug, “We’re going to win.”

“And how do you know that?” 

“I have a plan.”

“You have a plan.” he repeats flatly almost mockingly.

“Yes!”

“Great… we’re going to lose…”

 

“What makes you say that?!” you ask clearly offended by his lack of confidence.

“You’ve never even shot a paintball gun!”

“That has nothing to do winning... “ you state in a matter of fact tone your arms crossing over your chest. 

 

“HOW does that have NOTHING to do with winning?!”

“Because the rest of you have shot a paintball gun before and that’s the important thing! I’m just bait!”

Sweet Pea goes silent and just looks at you for a moment before he says, “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“You are not being bait.”

“What does it matter if I’m bait if we win!”

“It… just does!” he says in annoyance before he turns and stomps away.

“Pea isn’t going to go along with anything that involves you being a target. He’s going to stick to you like glue,” Toni says as she walks up behind you. 

You roll your eyes in response, “he’s being ridiculous…”

“Is he? You did agree to skinny dip if you lose. Pea isn’t going to let that happen… Not in front of all the guys.” 

“We’re not losing…Trust me on this…”

You go to where everyone is gathering. Sweet Pea’s shoulders are tense and he seems to be pointedly ignoring you. Fangs, Toni and a few of other Serpents named Dare, Tori, Whip and Switch have joined your team. The guy who had made the announcement whose name you discover is Sai, stands up again and gestures for everyone to gather around. 

“Each team gets five minutes to scatter then the hunt is on! Hope you assholes know where you’re going!” He blows a whistle hanging around his neck and everyone rushes off in a random direction. Sweet Pea grabs your arm and pulls you behind him towards the woods away from Roberts. You trip through the underbrush your beat up converse getting snagged on vines on the forest floor. You know why this happens on a full moon. There is an eerie blue glow that has settled over the forest, you can make out the pitch black outline of the trees and it makes hiding among the dark shadows easy. It takes only a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and you are surprised at how well you can actually see with just the light from the moon. You find yourself leaning against a large tree and you aren’t surprised when a few moments later the others from your team find their way from the shadows. 

“What’s the plan?” questions Switch. He’s a dark skinned teen with the of his hair in dreads and the back and sides shaved close. He’s handsome in a devil may care kind of way and holds the paintball in an easy grip.

“We’re protecting (Y/N) at all costs, they are going to be targeting her so it should be easy to draw them out.”

“Seriously? Your plan is just to protect your girlfriend?” asks Tori. She has deep navy hair with one side shaved with various braids and deep purple hair wraps. Her eyes are almond shaped and she’s wearing way too much black around her almost honey color eyes. And of course she pulls it all off with a switchblade like smile.

“She’s not my girlfriend! And yes, clearly Roberts is going to be targeting her, so making sure she is protected only makes sense,” argues Sweet Pea.

“To you maybe, but you heard her… She can take care of herself. Let’s see if she can prove it…” Dare speaks up. She is a tiny pixie like girl with short blonde hair with pastel pink, purple and green streaks throughout. She has large doe like eyes with hexagonal glitter freckles decorating her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. 

“She has a point Pea… (Y/N) is better at protecting herself than we give her credit for.” Toni interjects. 

Sweet Pea huffs in annoyance, “Fangs?”

“Don’t look at me man! She’s taken on the Ghoulies twice now… She’s more badass than you’re giving her credit for.”

“Fine… Round them up, we’re dealing with this quickly… You’re staying with me though,” he says shooting you a meaningful look. 

You just roll your eyes in response. 

‘It’s just paintball…’ you mutter under your breath, ‘it’s not like I’m gonna die…’

Toni pats your arm in sympathy knowing that you don’t want to have a babysitter for the entire game. 

You lean over and whisper in her ear, “I’m going to get away from him and when I do I want you to tell the others to follow behind me. I’m going to lure the other team to one spot, you guys can surround them and take them out all at once.”

“He’s going to be so pissed at you..”

“He’ll get over it…”

Which is how you now find yourself running like a mad woman through the forest dodging trees and leaping over logs like you actually know where you’re going. At least you are succeeding at making as much noise as possible.

“There she is!” you hear someone yell in the distance. 

“Shit!” you curse as you veer away from the voice praying that Toni and Pea had gathered the others and they were on their way. 

“I am not a runner!” you pant as you lean against a tree for a moment. The snap of a twig to your right and paintball hitting the tree your leaning on has you rushing off into the trees again. 

“If the Zombie Apocalypse happens just let me be one of the first to go! Being eaten would be more merciful!”

Your legs and lungs burn as you see a bush and duck into the shadows away from the other team. You hear 3 people run past you and you sit there for a few minutes taking deep breaths before you force yourself up and rush in another direction. 

The forest is eerily silent as you meander through the woods trying your best not to rustle the damp leaves or trip on a wayward fern. You hear your pocket vibrate and see a message from Toni. 

Toni: We see you in the clearing. I’ve rounded everyone up and we’re ready when you are. 

You nod before you take off into the trees making as much noise as possible. 

Dare: You’re heading towards me. There is a clearing I’m up a tree and I’ve got Whip with me. 

Tori: I’m on the left with Switch

Fangs: Toni and I are taking up the right

“Where’s Pea?” you mutter to yourself.

“The FUCK do you think you’re doing?” you hear him roar from behind you. 

You whip around to find him walking out of the shadows behind you and if looks could kill you would be dead. 

“I’m trying to have fun! Or do you not know what that’s like?” you retort back.

“You’re so fuckin much TROUBLE! I don’t have time to be running around the forest after your incompetent ass!”

“INCOMPETENT!” you screech back.

“Who the FUCK are you calling INCOMPETENT! You can’t even keep up with a little girl!”

“What did you just say?” he spits out in a deadly whisper. 

“You heard me.”

You hear clapping coming from the trees, “Wow… You two really are made for each other…” 

You look over at the edge of the clearing and watch as the other team steps menacingly out of the shadows surrounding you. Sweet Pea has his gun raise and pointed at Roberts as he shuffles you behind him away from Roberts and the two Serpents that flank him on either side. 

“Oh? What makes you say that?” asks Sweet Pea as he glares Roberts down. 

“Because only you would get into a screaming match with your girlfriend in the middle of a game and give your exact location away. I mean we all know the Great Sweet Pea is a hulking mass of brain dead muscle, but I expected more even from you Sweets.”

“I mean… Unless that was the plan all along?” you say with a cheshire smile your back to Pea as you aim at the guy coming up behind the two of you.

“Huh?”

Everyone fires at the same time, Sweet Pea takes out Roberts while you get the guy in front of you shooting him square in the chest multiple times as you fire at random. The rest of your team fires from the trees taking out the other team quickly and easily. You and Pea get hit several times as paintballs fly from every direction, but the winner is obvious as the other team throws down their guns and accepts defeat. Your team drops down from the trees moments later revealing them to be unscathed. 

“Wow… You really fell for that?” you ask walking over to Roberts as he glowers at you. “He totally did the villain speech and everything!” you exclaim walking back over to Sweet Pea who just smirks at you. 

“You okay Babydoll?”

“I’m going to have some bruises, but otherwise I’m fine!”

He shakes his head before pulling you into him and ruffling your hair up. 

“Stop!” you yell as you pull away from him. 

“HOW?!” yells Roberts from behind you as he stomps over.

“Oh! I planned this from the beginning! Sweet Pea really wasn’t happy about it, but that just made our performance a few minutes ago all the better!”

“She’s taken out like 5 Ghoulies by herself, like she can’t win at paintball,” he says with a shrug.

You’re stumbling through the woods behind Sweet Pea.

“Look I don’t have the legs you do sasquatch! So slow it down!”

“Don’t think I don’t know you intend to sneak off… I saw you whispering with Toni,” he says as he wheels around to face you.

“I wouldn’t have to sneak if you would just listen to me!”

“I’m not letting you run into his twisted game by yourself! He pulled this shit for a reason! He wants you alone!”

“Then be the distraction with me… We’ll play his game better.”

“You’re fucking dangerous,” he says after a pause with an appreciative smirk as he crosses his arms, “Whats the plan?”

“It’s pretty simple actually… I just need you to lose your temper…”

 

You giggle as you pat Roberts on the cheek, “See at the game next Friday! Don’t forget to groom...you know…” you stage whisper the last part as you glance down. 

“You know you still got hit… You have to take it all off for us,” he snarks back.

“That wasn’t the deal,” the steel in Sweet Pea’s voice leaves no room for argument as you and your new found friends head off into the woods. Dare links her arm through yours and smiles brightly. 

“I knew you could it,” she says confidently.

“Of course she could… She’s like Harley Quinn without the toxic relationship,” laughs Tori from behind you. 

“Told you you girls would like her!” exclaims Toni as she comes up from behind and falls into step on Sweet Pea’s other side. 

“STAP! You guys are embarrassing me!” You yell.

Everyone just laughs as Sweet Pea throws his arm around your shoulders again. He’s a little quiet and you know he’s not happy you tried to sneak away from him again.

When he drops you off at your house he grabs your arm gently pulling you back around to face him. 

“You really do need to start listening to me more,” he says calmly. 

You sigh, “I’m not a delicate flower Pea…”

“Well you aren’t from this world either… You could have gotten hurt tonight…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Roberts is Monty...He was the one talking about you a few days ago.”

“What was he saying.”

Sweet Pea is just silent as he looks up into the sky as he grits his teeth.

“I’m not going to tell you… You don’t have to know what he said to know that I want you to stay away from him and that should be enough.”

“Sweet Pea just because you feel responsible for my protection does not mean you tell me what to do.”

“When it comes to shit like this I do,” you can hear the steel in his voice.

“No… you don’t.”

With that you turn and walk towards your house. You hear the sound of cursing the telltale smack of skin on metal before he roars into the night, going far faster than he should be.


	7. Girl Meets Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Pea decides to take matters into his own hands, and you aren't having it.

In your heart of hearts you know that Sweet Pea is a gang member. You know that he is actually considered one of The gang members where the Serpents are involved. He’s dangerous, reckless, hot headed and loyal to a fault. This is something that you don’t really acknowledge when you think about him or when he walks you to class.

Toni: Sweet Pea is heading to the junkyard to send a message to the Ghoulies. 

However, moments like these it becomes glaringly obvious that you are now friends with a gang member.

(Y/N): What?!?!

Toni: He’s got this plan to leave them a message to leave you alone. That last stunt they pulled was too far… You’re under our protection now and they still haven’t backed off…

(Y/N): soooo what’s his plan?

Toni: I can’t tell you…

(Y/N): Toni!

Toni: Sorry girl… He doesn’t even want me telling you this… I just thought I would in case you tried to reach him tonight and he doesn’t answer… Fangs and I are going after him to make sure he doesn’t get caught...

(Y/N): What you’re saying is that I should stay home so I don’t get into any trouble because Sweet Pea is the one getting into trouble?

Toni: Pretty Much! :)

You roll your eyes as you throw your phone onto your bed where is bounces before settling into your comforter. 

The Junkyard is where the Ghoulies like to hang out and party. No one goes to the Junkyard that isn’t a Ghoulie and suddenly you are incredibly worried about your new found friends. Especially since Sweet Pea is essentially going to look for a fight. You have no idea what he has planned, but you do know that you should at least try to stop them… Maybe…

You can feel yourself going back and forth on what to do. Sweet Pea can handle himself right? But he’s putting himself in danger because of you and even he can’t take on the entire gang of Ghoulies by himself…

‘Maybe I can talk some sense into him?’

You walk over to your closet and pull out a pair of black skinny jeans and a black long sleeved top. You put on your black boots and slip a black beanie on your head. Your makeup is done in a pitch black smokey eye and deep merlot lips. You don’t waste any time as you grab your bat from under your bed and throw large rings on your fingers. Suddenly the reason Sweet Pea wears so many large rings is clear to you. Grabbing your black side bag you throw your mace, phone, a tiny flashlight and whatever else you think you may need before you rush out the door. Sweet Pea had dropped your car off earlier today and left your bat on the front porch. You know he’s still mad at you, but he’s going to get over it. 

Well… he may not get over the fact that you are going to the Junkyard after him… but whatever… he’ll get over it… again?

You startup your car and head off down the road heading in the direction of the Junkyard. About a mile from your destination you pull over and hide your car in a dimly lit parking lot of a grocery store. Continuing down the road staying near the treeline you notice a trio of bikes parked on the side of the road hidden mostly from view. You can see the familiar Harley gleaming in the moonlight and know that they must already be there. 

It takes about 15 minutes for you to find the Junkyard and slip into the shadows, the night oddly silent. You move from shadow to shadow until you get to a clearing where you see Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs a barrel fire lighting their work. The Ghoulies are nowhere to be found. 

“Where are all the Ghoulies?” you ask as you step out of shadows to get a better view of what’s happening. 

Sweet Pea’s head snaps up, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” he yells as he stops what he’s doing and stomps over to you. 

“I wanted to make sure you guys were okay!”

“How did you even know we were here?” he asks in a deadly voice glaring over at Toni. 

“Find my Friends?” you question more than state as you pull his attention away from a relieved Toni. He just rolls his eyes. 

“Go home (Y/N). You do not need to be here for this.”

“Where are the Ghoulies though? Isn’t this there hang out?”

“Yes! Which is why you need to go NOW!” he says before going back to what he was doing before. On the ground you can see the outlines of the words “Mess with Serpents and Get Burned” in gasoline in the dirt. You can see that they have trashed the place and there is debris everywhere.

You frown as you turn around to head back to your car, the only problem is you don’t necessarily remember how to get out. About 10 minutes later you are still wandering around the Junkyard lost and alone and you’re beginning to panic. You really want to call Sweet Pea but you aren’t sure if he would even answer your call right now. This is when you hear the telltale sounds of the Ghoulies as they return from where ever they have been. You throw yourself into an abandoned car near you in the shadows and listen as you hear the sounds of the Ghoulies and what they have found. 

“Well well well.... Looks like we’ve caught a few baby snakes in a trap…” You hear one of them say. 

You don’t hear anything in response before the sounds of chaos erupts into your ears. You freeze for a minutes trying to figure out what to do. You can hear Fangs yell, “RUN!!” and the panicked shouts of Toni. You hear grunts coming from Sweet Pea, no doubt he’s in a fight with someone.

Glancing down you see that you are in a car that looks to be in perfect shape. 

“Holy shit… it’s a stolen car…” you mutter to yourself as you gaze down at the steering wheel in front of you. What do I do?!?

Wait… You notice a couple of wire dangling from under the dash… no way...

Pulling your phone out you pull up your search engine and google how to hotwire a car.

“Well… I’m going to die either way… at least this way I stand a chance…” you think to yourself as you read over the instructions and a few moments later you have somehow managed to hotwire a car… 

“How did I not die?” you ask yourself as the car roars to life and you mash the gas. 

You drive off down the path trying your best to listen out for your friends. You turn a corner and see 3 Ghoulies standing in your pathway surprised to see you. 

“Hey it’s that chick from before!”

“SHIT!” you screech before putting the car in reverse and backing away from the guys who are now running towards you at full force. You turn the wheel sharply and back into a clearing before putting it into drive and gasing it back down the way you came. 

“WHERE ARE THEY??!” You yell in a panic as you drive down the dark path you can hear the screams of the Ghoulies behind you and don’t stop to wonder where they are. Suddenly you notice three figure followed by several others rush out into the path before you. 

You slam down onto the horn and throw on the brights as you stop just inches shy of the Ghoulies. The light are effectively blinding them and you roll down the window and yell out into the night to your friends. 

“GET IN THE CAR!”

They don’t think twice as they all pile in. 

“You have got to start LISTENING to me!” yells Sweet Pea as he jumps into the car.

The second they are in you throw the car into reverse and start to back away from the angry Ghoulies in front of you. When you realize you have nowhere to go behind you, you throw the car back into drive and mash the gas sending the Ghoulies who were once chasing you leaping out of the way of the moving car. 

“Look I stole a car to get away! It’s fine!”

“How do you even know how to hotwire a car?!” yells Fangs from the back, panic in his voice from the Ghoulies outside.

“Google?”

“You Googled how to how wire a car!” Exclaims Toni from behind you. 

“You would be surprised what’s on WikiHow…”

“Pull over I’m driving…” Says Sweet Pea as he holds his head like he’s fighting a headache. 

“No time! They are coming! Besides… I’ve got this!”

“You’ve got this?”

“I’ve got this!”

You swerve to avoid hitting a piece of scrap metal in the path almost knocking out Sweet Pea on the passenger's side window. 

“Right… You’ve got this…”

“You are not being helpful Pea! Besides this is the thanks I get for saving your ass!”

“If you had just listened from the beginning…”

“They would have found me anyway! And how would you have escaped?”

“You don’t know that! And I would have figured it out!”

“Shut up! I’m trying to not crash!”

“Oh God we’re all going to die…” moans Fangs from the backseat.

“NOT HELPING!”

“Do you even know how to get out of here?” asks Sweet Pea, unusually calm. 

“No… but you do!” He just rolls his eyes, “Turn left up here.” 

You do as he instructs and finally you find your way to the entrance that is blocked with multiple Ghoulies in their cars. 

“DON’T STOP, KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS,” yells Sweet Pea in alarm reaching over to keep the wheel steady.

“WHAT?!”

“Just trust me!”

When the Ghoulies realize you aren’t stopping they start to jump out of the way and throw their precious cars into reverse. You crash your way through two Ghoulies cars clipping the front as you careen past them into the night. You can hear the roar of their engines as you race off into the night. You pull over where the bikes are allowing Fangs and Toni to jump out of the car on the side road off the beaten path. You’ve lost them for a moment.

“Where is your car?” Asks Sweet Pea. 

“Up the road at the grocery store…”

“Get out I’m taking you to your car then leading them away from you.”

“Sweet Pea no!!”

“Let me handle this!” he says angrily as he opens the driver’s side door motioning for you to get out. Your heart is still racing and you aren’t sure if you will even be able to stand. You manage to pull yourself out of the car and stumble on unsteady legs.

“I’m going to get you home in one piece okay?” he mutters softly as he catches you and helps you over to the passengers side door. 

“I’ll meet you guys at the worm in half an hour,” Sweet Pea calls to his friends as he gets into the driver’s seat of the car. 

“Buckle up babe… It’s going to be a wild ride,” he says glancing over at you, a dangerous glint in his eyes. 

Toni and Fangs take off down the road, each going a different way to keep the Ghoulies off of their tail. Sweet Pea puts the car into drive and peels out of the clearing heading off down the road. 

The silence in the car is broken by Sweet Pea, “Why did you come tonight?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me…” you mutter in a small voice.

“Look I can handle myself alright?”

“Like you handled that back there? If I hadn’t come tonight you would have put yourself and your friends in danger unnecessarily.”

“They threatened you…”

“I don’t care if they threatened the Queen of England! You didn’t have to do this! You didn’t think of the consequences!”

“And you did!?”

“I wouldn’t have had to if you had just left this alone!”

“I can’t just leave it alone! Any weakness that isn’t dealt with is taken advantage of! Ghoulies don’t care about codes or honor. They know fear. That’s all they know. If they don’t fear me, they won’t leave you alone. They won’t leave Gumdrop alone…”

He almost whispers the last statement.”

“What did they do to Gumdrop?” you ask hestantly. 

“They were waiting outside the school on Friday when Mama Fogarty went to pick up her and Sophie. She told Fangs and I about it today… they aren’t getting my sister…they aren’t getting you.” 

Sweet Pea’s grip on the steering wheel is so tight that you are amazed that he hasn’t left an indention in it yet. He pulls into the grocery store parking lot and you rush to get into your car. 

“Go home… I’ll make sure no one follows you…” he says before he drives out of the parking lot. 

He didn’t even look at you as he leaves. You do as he says and get into your car. You can hear the roar of engines as the Ghoulies speed down the road towards you. You take off into the night hoping that Sweet Pea would make it out okay. 

 

 

Sweet Pea is pissed at you. He isn’t answering any of his text messages and really all you want know that he is okay. Even though you are equally mad at him for getting himself into that fiasco last night, he’s still become your friend. You heave out a sigh as you get dressed and walk to your car, an idea forming in your head. 

Pulling up in the driveway to Sweet Pea and Gumdrop’s trailer you notice the curtains move before Gumdrop is out the door and rushing towards you. 

“(Y/N)! What are you doing here?!” 

“I’m making dinner!” you exclaim as you start grabbing shopping bags out of your back seat, “Want to help?”

She cheers before she grabs some bags helping you to carry the food into the kitchen. 

“Where is Sweet Pea?” you ask as you set the bags onto the counter. 

“He’s at the Wyrm, there is a meeting today he had to go to.”

“Do you know when he will be back?”

“In a couple of hours…”

“Perfect! We are going to make baked chicken, rice and vegetables!”

“Do we have to make vegetables?” she whines.

“When was the last time you had vegetables?”

She stops for a moment to think.

“Exactly.”

She pouts but nods in agreement and before you know it she is bouncing around the kitchen attempting to help you cook the meal. You mix up the glaze and pour it over the chicken. You put it into the oven to start baking. You start chopping up the vegetables, in the meantime, you have made Gumdrop in charge of the rice. She has the water in the pot and is intently waiting for it to boil so she can put the rice in to cook. You season the vegetables and put the lid on the pot allowing them to steam. 

“Want to do cupcakes?” you ask pulling the cake mix out of the shopping bag. 

Her face lights up as she grabs the box from your hands and starts to dance around the kitchen holding the box above her head. You laugh as you join her dancing around the kitchen. 

An hour and a half later you are dividing the food onto plates when the door opens. Sweet Pea is stunned to see you in his kitchen and the table laid out with food. You can see a black eye and a bruise on his cheek, however the exhaustion that seems to have been burdening him lifts as he takes in the sight before him. 

“You cooked dinner? For us?” He asks in surprise. 

You shrug, “You’re dealing with a lot… thought you might like a home cooked meal…”

“You baked chicken? You know how to actually cook? Real food?”

“No… it’s all imaginary...Yes… Sweet Pea, real food!” you laugh as you walk over to him and grab his arm to lead him to the table. He has a look of wonder on his face as he follows behind you. 

“I’m still mad you don’t listen to me…” he mutters as he sits down, but the small smile on his face tells you otherwise. 

“That’s okay, you’re still a reckless delinquent that I want to throw out a window… So I made cupcakes….”

“Because I’m a reckless delinquent that you want to throw out the window?”

“You can ask questions or you can eat…but you can’t do both!” you say with a shrug.

The three of you eat in silence for a while before you look up at him. 

“Look I promise to listen to you more, if you promise to tell me what’s going on.”

He looks up from the meal in front of him and gazes at you intently.

“You promise?”

“You have to give me a reason. I’m not just going to listen to you blindly Sweet Pea… It’s not in my nature. I don’t like being told what to do and I don’t like being out of the loop. Plus, I can’t protect myself if you don’t tell me what is going on.”

“You still put yourself in danger last night,” he mutters angrily. 

“I know... I can’t say I won’t do it again either… you guys are my friends now and I want to make sure you are safe. I got scared last night… I don’t want to you lose you guys as my friends.”

Sweet Pea nods, “I’ll try to keep you in the loop as much as I can, but there are going to be things you can’t know because you aren’t a Serpent.”

“I understand that.”

“Also, I’ll tell you why I ask you to do the things I tell you…” He says with an exasperated sigh. 

“That’s all I wanted… Cupcake?” You say with a smile as you hand him one across the table. 

“You are going to be the death of me…” he says as he takes the cupcake from your fingers. 

“That’s a lie, you are totally going to get yourself killed long before I get the chance to kill you.”

He just smirks before he takes a bite of the cupcake.


	8. Girl Meets Jealousy

People live their lives by a certain routine. Falling in with the Serpents, you realize, is surprisingly easy. Your new found friends look out for you and in return you look out for them. You still have your other friends, but they don’t really understand your relationship with the Serpents and would prefer to be left alone. So as the weeks pass, they slip from your life and your new friends slip in. 

“You’re going with us to the drive in tonight right?” questions Sweet Pea as he leans on the locker next to yours. Fangs and Toni are standing around you waiting for you to finish sorting out your books for class.

You shrug in reply, “Yeah sure… what are we seeing?”

“We’ll figure it out when we get there…” 

You feel arms wrap around you and a chin rest on your shoulder, “You’re going to sit with me tonight aren’t you (Y/N)?” 

“Of course, I am Fangs!” You giggle as you lean your head against his and wrap your arms over his. 

“Get off her…” says Sweet Pea pulling Fangs off of you. 

“What?! Are you jealous?” Fangs asks with a grin. 

“Yeah, he wants you to sit with him tonight Fangs!” laughs Toni as she loops her arm through yours as you head off down the hallway. 

Pea’s arm drapes around your shoulders as he falls into step next to you. 

“You got that right! Babydoll came along and now you’re hanging all over her… what’s the deal man?” Questions Sweet Pas as he pulls you closer to him. 

“You don’t love Pea anymore?” you ask in mock concern as you glance around Sweet Pea to see Fangs on his otherside, your arms wrapping around his midsection. 

“You too!” he groans, “I thought you returned my love (Y/n)!” 

“What are you guys talking about! Cearly it’s me that she loves!” Says Toni pulling you possessively towards her. 

You laugh and joke with your friends as you continue down the hallway to your last class of the day. You break off from the group and walk into your Math class. You can already feel the boredom kicking in. You hear your phone go off and you glance down to see a message from Sweet Pea. 

Sweet Pea: You want to ditch last period? We’ll hit up Pop’s then go to the Drive in?

(Y/N): You are a horrible influence! I was such a model student before I met you!

(Y/N): Meet you in the usual spot?

Sweet Pea: ;)

Before class even starts you walk out the door. You don’t make it a habit of walking out of class. You’ve won several arguments against Sweet Pea and his deviant tendencies towards school, but today you aren’t feeling it.

Walking across the parking lot you see Sweet Pea on his bike and he’s clearly waiting for you. 

“Ready Babydoll?” he asks handing you your helmet. 

“Yeah, can we drop by my place? I want to drop my stuff off and change clothes.”

“Anything for you Babydoll,” he says with a charming smile, before he revvs the engine and takes off down the road. 

Walking into Pop’s you and Sweet Pea take your usual booth in the corner. You order a large basket of fries to split, he still likes to steal yours, and your usual orders. 

“So what’s the deal with the Drive-in lately? That’s like all you guys want to do…”

“You don’t like the Drive-in?” he asks before stuffing a bite of his double cheeseburger into his mouth. 

You raise an eyebrow at him, “It’s fine, but that’s like all we do now… We are there more than the Wyrm…”

He just shrugs in reply, “There are good movies playing that’s all.”

“Okay… If you say so…”

“You don’t believe me?”

You fix him with a look. 

He looks up at the ceiling as if you are testing his patience, “Do you not want to go to the Drive-in?”

“It’s not that… I just don’t want you getting into a fight… Northsiders have been there a lot lately.” 

“You don’t have to worry about that Babydoll... “

“Mmm hmmm…” you hum in disbelief. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks offense obvious in his voice.

“You know,” you mutter giving him a look.

He grumbles to himself before he takes another bite of his burger. His mood doesn’t last long as he changes the subject to tell you about the pool game he had with Tall Boy the other night. 

“You know… the game you missed…”

“I’m sorry some of us have to sleep Sweets!”

As the two of you finish eating you get a text messages from Fangs and Toni asking where the two of you are. 

“You ready to head out?” Sweet Pea asks as he picks up the check and leaves money for the food on the table. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” you cheer as you get up and wave to Pop Tate as you head out the door. 

With the days getting shorter the sun is already setting as the two of you pull up at the Drive-in. Your friends are waiting in the usual spot as the two of you approach. 

“You two off making out?” questions Tori with a shit eating grin.

“No… but I did get a free meal sooo….”

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes and flips Tori off as she made a whipping motion with her hands. You and Sweet Pea climb up into the truck with Fangs and Toni where multiple blankets and pillows line the bed of the truck. Fangs opens his arms for you to sit with him so you comply, sitting in between his propped up legs and resting your back against his chest. His arms circle you as he rests his head on your shoulder. 

“So that’s how it’s going to be? I buy you dinner and Fangs gets to use you as a pillow?” Sasses Sweet Pea from beside the two of you. 

Fangs turns his head and rests it on your shoulder as you glance over to Sweet Pea. 

“Not my fault she loves me more dude…” Says Fangs before he buries his head in your neck. 

You just laugh at the look of betrayal on Sweet Pea’s face, “See if I buy your dinner again....” he grumbles to himself as he throws some sweet tartes into his mouth. 

“Did you hear that Fangs? Sweet Pea isn’t buying your dinner anymore!”

“I don’t need him to buy my dinner! I’m my own man!”

The four of you crack up at Fangs’ declaration before you turn to pay attention to the movie on the screen. It was some action movie that the guys seemed to be way into, even though you and Toni couldn’t care less. 

“I’m going to go grab snacks, anyone want anything.” 

Both Fangs and Sweet Pea raise their popcorn buckets up without taking their eyes from the screen. You roll your eyes and grab both buckets from their outstretched hands. 

“I’ll be back,” you say to Toni as you hop off of the truck. 

You head over to the concession stand and start to get your popcorn refill. A guy gets into line behind you, but you don’t take notice. Turning you don’t realize how close he is and you run right into him making popcorn fly everywhere. 

Both of you start to apologize to the other and scramble to keep the buckets off the floor, more popcorn flying everywhere. 

When you have finally calmed down the two of you look at the one another and start to laugh. 

“Sorry… I didn’t see you there…” you apologize.

“No! I should have been watching out for large popcorn tubs,” he laughs in reply. 

“Go ahead and get what you want, I’ll wait until your done.”

“No! Go ahead and get your refill!” he insists.

When you turn towards the guy behind the counter he does not look amused at what just happened. 

“Sorry…” you apologize as you tentatively hand him the half full popcorn buckets. 

He just takes them and turns to refill them. 

“So… What do you think of the movie so far?” you ask turning slightly to guy behind you.

“It’s very…. Flashy…”

You laugh, “You are telling me, I’m here with some friends, I’m more interested in the next one playing.”

“Same here,” he laughs, “Wait… You’re into crime movies?”

“Ummm yeah! Seven is one of my favorite movies!” 

“Really? A lot of people our age haven’t even seen it, because it came out before we were born.”

“It’s practically a classic!”

“It is a classic.”

“You’re so right.”

“You know… The Bone Collector is playing next week and none of my friends really want to go see it. Would you like to meet up to watch it? You know... just as friends?” You ask hesitantly. 

“Yeah, that sounds like fun! Would it be okay if my friend Betty comes along as well? She loves these types of movies as well.”

“Yeah! That sounds awesome!” you exclaim happily, “I’m (y/n), by the way!”

“I’m Jughead,” he says with a small smile. 

“Let me get your phone number and we can text each other about next week!”

“Sounds good,” he says as he pulls his phone out. 

“Babydoll, you okay?” Questions a familiar voice behind you.

You turn towards Sweet Pea, “Yeah, I’m fine!” you chirp happily as you finish putting your number into Jughead’s phone. 

Sweet Pea frowns, “Okay you’ve been gone for a while I was just checking on you,” he says as he walks up towards you and Jughead. His arm goes around your shoulders and he pulls you protectively towards him. 

“Who’s this?” he ask looking Jughead up and down a sneer on his face. 

“He’s my new friend, so play nice!” you grumble lightly hitting his chest. 

“You’re dating a Serpent?” Jughead asks incredulously.

“No… We’re just friends,” you say with finality.

Sweet Pea doesn’t say anything and just glares at Jughead as he starts to pull you towards the truck. 

“We should get back,” says Sweet Pea pulling you towards the others. 

You look up at him and nod, “Okay! Here, take your popcorn!” you say pushing his bucket of popcorn towards him. 

He takes it from your grip and pulls you with him back towards your friends. 

“Bye Jughead!” you exclaim as he just waves at you uncertainly.

“You probably just scared him off…” you pout as he directs you back to the truck. 

“So? What do you need him for?”

“Well… I don’t need him, but he seems nice and we like the same kind of movies.”

“I’m nice and we like the same kind of movies!” Sweet Pea grumbles.

You glance up at him and laugh, “I never said otherwise Sweets, but I’m allowed to have other friends, right?”

“Well… yeah… but you don’t need other friends! You have us!”

“I know I do… However, you can never have too many friends…”

“He is just a friend, right?”

“What do you mean?” you ask in confusion. 

“You guys exchanged numbers… Why?”

“We are going to see a movie next week.”

“I could go with you to see a movie.”

“You don’t want to see the movie.”

“When did you ask me?” he asks heatedly. 

“Umm...Yesterday when we were looking at the showtimes!” you say getting frustrated with him. 

“Why does it matter? I’m going to the movie with Jughead, because you don’t want to see the movie.”

“Well if you had just asked, I would have taken you!”

“That’s not the point Sweet Pea… The point is why is it a big deal that I’m going with Jughead?”

“It’s not! I’m just saying you don’t have to go with him, I would have taken you…”

“Fine… I’m glad that’s settled. We can go to the next movie together.”

Although Sweet Pea clearly isn’t happy about the fact you are going with Jughead, you just ignore his mood and climb up into the truck. You go to sit with Fangs, but Sweet Pea pulls you down to sit with him and locks his arms around you. He rests his chin on your shoulder and pulls you back to lean against him. 

“You’re such a baby…” you giggle.

He just squeezes you a little tighter before relaxing again to finish the movie.


	9. Girl Meets Certainty

The door to your class flies open and slams against the wall startling everybody in the room. Fangs and Toni step in and lock you with their gaze. 

“Sweet Pea got a call from the Middle schools about Gumdrop…” Fangs starts.

“We need you to come with us!” Toni finishes. 

“Sweet Pea refuses to talk to anyone and Gumdrop is going ballistic!”

“You mean Gumdrop won’t talk to anyone?” 

“Yeah that’s what I said! Let’s go!” 

You just nod in compliance as you grab your things. Your teacher watching you with disapproval as you rush out the door after your friends. You send an apology over your shoulder as you pass by her. 

You arrive at the school in enough time to see Sweet Pea practically over the desk at the principal. Gumdrop is sitting in a chair in front of the principal’s desk with her head down and silent tears streaming down her face. A boy and his mother sit primly in the seat next to her. 

“You can’t suspend her for defending herself!” 

“We don’t know that she was defending herself! We just know she punched him in the nose!” Wails the teacher from behind the principal. 

Sweet Pea whips his head towards the teacher turning his wrath on him. 

“Did you ask her?” He asks through gritted teeth.

“Sweet Pea will you calm down long enough to get the whole story?” He whips around to face you all fire and righteous rage. 

You hold his stare and he turns to Gumdrop, he sinks to one knee in front of her and asks in a quiet voice.

“Will you talk to (Y/N)?”

She just nods with her head down as slinks off the chair. You hold your hand out and she takes it as you lead her from the room. You pull her down the hallway and you two sit on a bench in the deserted corridor. 

“You can tell me when you’re ready.”

She heaves a sigh and starts to recount the events of the last hour. The more she talks the more your rage builds. When she’s finished you motion for her to follow you back into the office. 

“YOU’RE GOING TO SUSPEND HER FOR DEFENDING HERSELF WHEN THAT LITTLE SHIT TOUCHED HER CHEST! INAPPROPRIATELY!”

The shocked looks on everyone’s face would be satisfying if you weren’t so pissed off. You step towards the desk and lock eyes with the principal. If he had looked scared before, he looks downright terrified now. Sweet Pea is behind you, his figure looming over you to give you the illusion of height and formidable rage. You don’t need him though. 

“They are just children… surely it isn’t that big of a deal?” Questions the teacher. 

You turn your gaze to him. 

“So you think it’s okay for a little girl to be touched inappropriately by a little boy in the hallway? You don’t think that little girl deserves to be protected from unwanted advances? You don’t think that little boy needs to learn boundaries before he becomes a man? You just told a little girl that her body doesn’t belong to her and a little boy he can take whatever he wants and get away with it. Don’t worry though… your job is mine.”

“You’re a teenage girl… what are you going to do?” 

“Alice Cooper may hate the Southside like the pits of hell… but she has two daughters and she loves causing a racket. No one is louder than that woman when she wants to get her way.” 

You watch as the blood drains from the faces of the two men I front of you. The little boy is whining to his mother who is sending him the iciest glare you’ve ever seen. 

“Don’t worry… We don’t tolerate such behaviors in our house… This will be dealt with…”

Sweet Pea is still vibrating with rage when you turn to loom at him. It’s Gumdrop that takes his hand and murmurs softly, “Can we go home now big brother?”

Her words are like water on the fire, he visibly calms and nods before muttering, “Anything you want Gummy Bear. Want to stop for ice cream?”

She perks up a little at the mention of her favorite treat, can (Y/N) come along too?”

“If she wants to…” he says glancing up at you pleadingly. You can tell he’s hardly holding it together.

You nod with a smile, “I could go for a sundae…” 

She cheers before rushing over and grabbing your hand. 

Sweet Pea is gazing into his hot fudge sundae with a blank expression on his face. He is clearly deep in thought. 

“You okay?” You ask softly. 

Fangs had grabbed Gumdrop when she was done with her ice cream and the two were dancing to the songs playing on the jukebox. 

“How hard is it to be a girl?” 

You look at him for a moment before you laugh. 

“You don’t want to know…”

“Has anyone ever done something like that to you?”

“Yeah… Brian Steinbeck in 7th grade after Math, Graham Reese at the 8th grade formal dance, some asshole Ghoulies last month…”

Sweet Pea clenched his fist on the table, “No one is touching you like that while I’m around.”

“You’re not always around though… It’s the same with Gumdrop, you’re not always going to be able to be there.”

He furrows his brows and glares down at the table, for a moment he looks helpless. He looks like a boy who is trying to do his best to take care of his sister all by himself. Not the man that looks a hopeless situation in the face and scoffs. You slide your arm across the table and rest your hand on his forearm. 

“It’ll be okay. We’ll make her tough as nails and she’ll be able to take on the world.”

He doesn’t look up, but a half smile slides across his lips. 

You glance down at your phone, “Well I should get going… I’m meeting Jughead and his friend soon!”

Sweet Pea looks up in bewilderment and annoyance, “You’re still going? Wouldn’t you rather hang with us tonight?”

“Go be with Gumdrop… She needs her brother tonight.”

“She needs you too!”

“If she’s that upset in an hour I’ll cancel with them and come hang out with you guys. Otherwise I think she would benefit from some big brother time.”

He scowls and you’ve known him long enough to know that he’s going to be pissy with you for a few days. You just sigh as your grab your things and go to tell Gumdrop and Fangs bye. 

Walking up to Fangs you pull him into a hug and whisper in his ear, “You’re going to be with them tonight right?”

“I’ve got it, go have fun,” he says with a wink as you pull away. 

You then pull Gumdrop into a hug and you whisper, “If you need me you have my number right?”

She just nods and smiles up at you, “Thank you for today! I’m glad you came to help, I don’t think big brother would know what to do without you.”

“He would have figured something out,” you say with a wink as you turn to walk away. 

You say your goodbyes to Sweet Pea but you can tell he’s still pissed off at you as he turns his head and looks out the window as he mumbles is goodbye. 

You roll your eyes and head outside to your car. An hour later when your phone hasn’t exploded with text messages you head to meet Jughead and his friend Betty.

You are sitting on the blanket you’ve brought when a figure walks up to you from behind. 

“Hey I bought burgers and cheese fries I hope you like them?” questions Jughead from behind you.

You glance over your shoulder to see him standing awkwardly behind you. 

“Sit down, give me the fries and no one gets hurt!” you joke sending him a smile. 

He sits down in relief and begins to pull the food out, “So Betty couldn’t come tonight, she has to help her friend out with something. Are you okay with it just being the two of us?”

“Of course!” 

It doesn’t take long for the two of you to launch into a conversation about the crime films as the movie on the screen starts. 

You notice off to the side a few Bulldogs and notice they are glancing at you the two of you periodically.

“Friends of yours?” you ask nonchalantly nodding your head to indicate the jocks to your right. 

“Nope…” he says as he glances over his shoulder at them. 

“I was afraid you would say that…”

“Why?”

“They keep looking over at us.”

“They are a bunch of neanderthals so don’t worry about them.”

“Are you sure?’

“They are friends with a friend of mine, they shouldn’t bother us…”

“So you say…” you mutter watching as one of the boys break off from the crowd and walks over to the two of you. 

“Jones… What are you doing here with a Serpent slut?” questions the boy hovering above the two of you.

“What are you talking about?” questions Jughead, “And don’t call her that!”

“She’s been seen hanging around the Jolly Green Giant, what you didn’t know?”

“Back off… you don’t know anything about him,” you growl out standing up to your full height. 

“OH ho…. So you think you’re hot shit since you hang out with the Serpents.”

“Look I’m here to have a nice time with Jughead and you aren’t invited, please leave.”

“Why don’t you make us Serpent slut?”

“Hey!” you glance over your shoulder to see Dare and Tori as they walk up to the three of you. 

“You need to leave,” Says Tori as she glares at the boy in front of you. 

“It’s an epidemic of Serpent sluts!”

“Say ‘Serpent slut’ one more time….” you growl out. 

“(Y/N), you don’t have to do anything rash,” cuts in Jughead.

“So it’s okay for him to call me that?!” You ask rounding on him.

“Of course not!”

“Serpent slut,” hisses the guy in front of you. 

You glance over Jughead’s shoulder in enough time to watch Dare wipe his feet out from beneath him. He hits the ground hard and Tori finishes him with a swift kick to the groin silencing him. The three of you glare over to the boys who got up to help their friend. A few more Serpents walk up behind the three of you and stare over at them. You watch as they sit back down grudgingly and the boy who had been harrassing you and Jughead hobble back to his friends spitting curse words as he went. 

“So you aren’t a Serpent?” questions Jughead in disbelief. 

“Not officially…” purrs Dare as she winks at Jughead. 

“See ya, (N/N),” calls Tori over her shoulder as she walks away. 

“What just happened?” asks Jughead. 

“Sweet Pea just happened…”

“Is that the guy from last week? Is he your boyfriend or something?”

“Or something…” you grumble as you rub your temple with your fingers. 

“This is going to be fun…” you mutter to yourself. 

Jughead looks concerned as he continues to stand by you, “Is he… doing…anything to you?”

“What?” You ask in disbelief. 

“You don’t have to be with him… I can help you if he’s making you do something you don’t like. You don’t have to be scared of him.”

“Oh… You’re sweet… but he’s going to be the scared one when I get done with him…”

You turn to a slightly scared looking Jughead and smile brightly, “Let’s finish the movie!”

He nods hesitantly and sits back down on the blanket. It’s quiet for a while until you notice Jughead relax back into the casual banter the two of you have developed through text message over the last week. 

Once the movie is over you say your goodbyes to Jughead and make your way over to your car. Dare and Tori are leaning against it with Wink. She has Dark skin and deep rose colored hair tied into two pom pom like buns.

“Sweet Pea?” You ask in a flat tone.

“I don’t know what you’ve done to that boy to make him so enchanted with you…” laughs Wink. 

“Well he’s about to be disenchanted…” you grumble as you walk around them to get into your car. The girls laugh as they hop off of your car and wave goodbye.


	10. Girl Meets Betrayal

The student population of Southside High knew that to incur Sweet Pea’s wrath would be the end of them. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that once you are on his bad side, there was no going back to his good side. The student body, however, is curious about the new addition to the Serpent’s crew. The illustrious (Y/N), with her sweet smile and quick wit she had tamed the beast that is Sweet Pea. They thought her the Beauty, the kind and caring princess that he protects with a snarl and well placed right hook. Nobody would ever expect that she would be the one to bring the famous Sweet Pea to his knees, metaphorically speaking of course. All it takes is…

Silence.

“So you’re really not talking to him?” asks Toni as she leans against your locker. 

“Nope…”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Because he sent the other Serpents to check up on you?”

“Because he’s throwing a temper tantrum and being too overprotective. I’m sick of his shit Toni. He acts like I can’t have friends that aren’t you guys and it’s some kind of personal betrayal I wasn’t up his ass Friday. Then, I’m having a good time with Jughead and he sends a scouting party, like I can’t even get a moment to myself without his interfering.”

“He’s just looking out for you… I mean those Bulldogs did bother you…”

“One guy being a dick does not mean that I was in danger… Enough is enough…”

You slam your locker closed and turn on your heels and start off down the hallway. The sound of Toni’s heels on the dirty linoleum floor follows you. 

“So ignoring him is how you are dealing with this?”

You just shrug in reply as you continue down the hallway towards your first class. 

“He didn’t talk to me all weekend either Toni and I don’t see you grilling his ass.”

She stops in her tracks before she rushes to catch up with you, “That’s because we both know you are the more rational one.”

“Not today.”

You sit through the next period stewing in your anger. You know he’s in your next class and you aren’t sure how this is going to play out. You are glaring at the board, barely paying attention to the teacher when your phone vibrates. 

Jughead: You free after school?

(Y/N): Yeah… why?

Jughead: Want to go to Pops? I have something I want you to read

Jughead: Plus you’ve been down since you and boyfriend got into a fight.

(Y/N): he isn’t my boyfriend!!

(Y/N): but yeah I’ll meet you at Pops…

Jughead: Cool

You put your phone away as the teacher turns back to the class. You spend the rest of the lesson wondering how you are going to deal with Sweet Pea in the next class. 

You almost miss the familiar weight of Sweet Pea’s arm as you walk to your next class, but the moment you see him sitting in his seat, turned to a girl in your class smiling and talking to her like she’s the only girl in the room you feel your blood boil. 

 

“That’s my seat…” you grumble to yourself as you raise your head up high and walk to an empty seat in the back of the classroom as far away from Sweet Pea as you can get. Throughout class you don’t even look at him, even as giggles from the girl he’s talking to drift from your usual seat. 

You spend the day not paying him any attention and with the Serpent girls. 

“So you’re telling us that he’s talking to some girl in a poor attempt to make you jealous?” questions Dare to your right.

“I didn’t say he was trying to make me jealous…”

“Umm… He clearly is…” says Wink from your other side. 

“That boy is so whipped when it comes to you it’s almost cute,” interjects Tori, “if it wasn’t so disgusting.” 

“He is not whipped…”

“Yes he is…” they all say in unison. 

“Whatever…” you grumble as you all continue down the hallway. 

The day ends with you still pointedly ignoring Sweet Pea and him still attempting to get a rise out of you. You could tell you are getting more of a rise out of him though. Throughout the day you watch as he became increasingly more agitated. 

Attempting to put your anger aside, you walk into Pop’s and over to the booth that Jughead is situated in. 

“What’s up?” you ask as you plop down across from him. 

“I wanted you to check out the piece I did on what happened to Gumdrop.”

“Whoa! You’ve finished it already?!” you ask jumping up and sliding into the booth next to you. His arm slides around the back of the booth to allow you to lean in and read the article he has pulled it up on the screen. 

“You really think Alice Cooper will run it?” you ask hopefully.

“Oh yeah! She’s all about causing general chaos,” He says with a chuckle. 

Neither of you notice when the door to Pops opens and Sweet Pea walks in. Fire springs into his eyes as he sees the two of you together.

“Wow… Seriously? Is this why you’ve been such a bitch?” questions Sweet Pea from behind you.

You whip around in your seat to see Sweet Pea, “You did not just call me a bitch.”

“Didn’t I?” he says with a cruel smirk, “Good to know that while I was taking care of Gumdrop all weekend you were fucking some Southside traitor! What? Did you decide that us lowly Southsiders aren’t good enough for you?”

“What the fuck Sweet Pea?! I thought you were my friend but you’re going to treat me this way? Fuck you!” you exclaim hurt he would say such things about you. You honestly thought you were better friends than that. 

Jughead looks like a fish out of water as you get up and push past Sweet Pea, you can feel the tears in your eyes from the hurt and the surprise from his reaction. 

You don’t think twice as you storm out the door and drive off into the setting sun. 

It’s about an hour later with all the girls piled into your room that the shit talking begins. 

“I cannot believe he would say that!” yells Toni.

“He needs to have his balls ripped off!” growls Tori from her spot at your window seat. 

“He needs more than that…” grumbles Wink as she steals the chocolate sauce and generously pours more onto her sundae. 

“What are you going to do?” questions Dare before she tilts her head back and sprays whipped cream into her mouth. 

“She’s going to get even obviously!” exclaims Tori.

“I’m sure he will apologize tomorrow, I bet he feels really bad about the way he talked to you,” says Toni. 

“I don’t care… That was completely unacceptable,” you say as a dollop of whipped cream toples over in your bowl. 

“Well he’s not going to talk to you like that again, or he’s dealing with us.”

You glance up at your new found friends and give them a watery smile. You don’t necessarily like how all of them have come to be in your life, but you don’t know what you would do without them now. 

You spend the rest of the night complaining about boys and eating all the sweets you could possibly want. 

The next day at school you don’t even look at Sweet Pea, or the next, or the next. By day three Sweet Pea is getting close to cracking when he calls out your name and you walk by him like you don’t even know him. 

That’s when the text messages begin. 

Sweet Pea: Look… I shouldn’t have said those things to you… 

Sweet Pea: I didn’t mean it… I just don’t like that Jughead guy okay?

Sweet Pea: Come on! Talk to me!

Sweet Pea: I don’t know why I said all those things okay? Can we talk? I feel like shit about all this…

Sweet Pea: Fine… I get it you’re still pissed… 

Sweet Pea: I’ll be at the Wyrm tonight if you want to talk.

 

You look down at your phone before leaning your head back and releasing the breath you didn’t know you were holding. You’re done being mad at Sweet Pea, but every time you think of what he said you get hurt and angry all over again. “Besides he hasn’t even apologized yet!”

“Maybe he wants to do it person?” asks Betty from the other side of the table. 

You’ve finally gotten the chance to meet Betty and the two of you hit it off right away. 

“Maybe…”

“Well do you really want to be someone’s friend if they talk to you like that?” questions Jughead from the otherside of the table. 

You look up at him, “He doesn’t usually talk to me like that…”

“Why do you think he did that day then?” questions Betty before she takes a sip of her milkshake. 

“Who knows… He was already pissed at me for choosing Jughead over him on Friday, I guess it just made it worse when he saw us together that day…”

“Sounds kind of controlling to me…” says Jughead off handedly. 

Betty whips around to face her friend and elbows him in the side. 

“What?! It does!” he defends before taking a large bite of his burger.

“He’s not controlling… He’s just had a rough week…”

“And now you’re making excuses for him…”

“I’m not…”

“Wow… so it is true…” says a voice from behind you. 

You glance over your shoulder to find Roger’s standing there with a smug smirk and his arms crossed. 

“What’s true?”

“That you aren’t Sweet Pea’s girl anymore…”

“I wasn’t ever Sweet Pea’s girl…” you grumble, “Why does everyone think I am?”

“Well you are always with him… Except for this week that is… Wonder why?”

“That’s none of your business…”

“Well he has been talking a lot of shit about you this week.”

“What?”

“Oh yeah… he keeps talking about how you’re fucking some guy and how you think you’re too good for the Southside now…”

“No he’s not…”

“That’s not what I heard… Look I’m not as big of an asshole as you think I am. I just think you should know what he’s been saying about you,” he says with a shrug as he grabs his order off of the counter. 

You can feel your blood boil as you practically leap out of the booth and rush out the door. It takes you all of 10 minutes to get to the Whyte Wyrm. You see his Harley in its usual spot and almost rip the door off its hinges to get into the bar. 

When you are in the dimly lit bar you look over at Sweet Pea’s usual table and see him waiting for his turn. His eyes land upon you when he looks up and a slight smile comes onto his handsome features. 

In your rage, you see none of this and rush towards the tall male. 

“What the fuck have you been saying about me you asshole!” 

Sweet Pea is taken off guard by your rage and almost takes a step back in surprise. 

“What are you talking about?” he asks in bewilderment.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You’ve been talking shit about me being with Jughead!”

“No I haven’t,” he says through gritted teeth, “Who told you that?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is I thought you were my friend! Then you go and yell at me and call me a slut for hanging out with a guy!”

“I did not call you a slut!”

“Umm… you pretty much did! And why does being friends with Jughead make me a traitor?!”

“Why are you hanging out with him so much then? Don’t think I don’t know you were with him tonight!”

“What does that even matter?!”

“IT JUST DOES!”

“Don’t you fucking yell at me!”

“You’re the one who came in here yelling at me! What you think you just get to do whatever the fuck you want?”

“Considering that I don’t answer to you… YES! Yes I do!”

“So that’s it then? We were just your friends until you could find some Northsiders to take you in?”

“What the fuck Sweet Pea? That’s you that decided that. I’ve always been your friend, I’ve never once thought bad of you or any of the Serpents. You guys have become like my second family and then I get treated like this? Fuck that. By the way… Jughead wrote an article calling out the guys at the school that were trying to suspend Gumdrop. I was working on an article to submit to the Riverdale Gazette in order to highlight the unjust way that the situation was handled. And Betty gathered several testimonials from young women who went through a similar situation and how it was poorly handled. I wasn’t kidding about taking their jobs Sweet Pea. WE did all that for Gumdrop.”

With that you spin on your heel and walk out the door. 

You don’t see the look of shock or guilt that haunts Sweet Pea. 

You don’t see how he breaks the pool stick in half over his knee in his rage.

And you don’t see when he sinks to his knees outside the bar and holds his head in his hands in shame, wishing he could take back all the things he said.


	11. Girl Meets Manipulation

Among the Serpents one, Monty Rogers, was known for all the trouble he likes to stir up. It is well known that Monty and Sweet Pea do not get along and usually they stay out of one another’s way. However, that doesn’t mean the two Serpents are ever any more than reluctant allies, especially when given an inch it would be all over for one of them. Monty wanted what Sweet Pea had in the form of one: (First Name) (Last Name).

 

The entire student body of Southside High share in your confusion when Monty begins to follow you around like a lost puppy. It seems like everywhere you turn there he is lurking near you. You don’t pay too much attention to him at first, but when a particularly nasty Ghoulie attempts to mess with you on your way to class it is Monty who steps in. 

“You know you practically have a target on your back now that you and your bodyguard are over.”

“Nothing is over between Sweet Pea and I… We weren’t together for anything to be over.”

“That’s not how the rest of the school sees it.”

“What do you mean?” you ask in confusion.

“You are Sweet Pea’s girl, he made that abundantly clear to everyone.

 

“Yeah… Everyone except me…”

“You know that’s why he didn’t want you near Jughead right? He wants you all to himself… He’s possessive like that.”

“He’s not possessive!”

“Really? What’s his problem with your other friends then?”

“I- I don’t know…”

“Exactly, he’s possessive and controlling and your better off without him…”

“Look… I wouldn’t go that far…” You mutter softly.

“Then why did he say all those awful things about you? And not want you to hang out with other guys? He’s not your boyfriend right?”

“Look I don’t know… I just have to get to class…”

You have not heard much from Sweet Pea in the last couple of days and while you are still upset at him. You don’t think he’s a bad person. 

Monty on the other hand begins to shower you with complements. 

“You look gorgeous as ever today,” he says with a charming smile while handing you your favorite morning beverage. 

“Oh… Umm… Thank you Monty,” you mutter softly, “you didn’t have to get me anything though…” 

At first his attention makes you a little uncomfortable, you aren’t sure what his angle is. 

“You’re just so smart maybe we can do the math homework together? You can even invite your other friends, I’d love to meet them!”

However, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy when Sweet Pea wasn’t around. 

‘Maybe Pea just brings out the worst in him…’ you think to yourself as you walk down the hallway to the door. The students jostling you suddenly stop when an arm is thrown around your shoulder. You feel yourself relax for just a moment until you realize the scent surrounding you isn’t the familiar musky scent of Sweet Pea. You glance up and Monty is sending you a charming smile. 

‘He isn’t bad to look at when he isn’t scowling either…” you send him a soft smile back. 

“You ready to head to Pop’s? Your friends are there right? Lughead? Right?

“Jughead!” you say with a laugh as you pass by Sweet Pea and Fangs. You send Fangs a sweet smile and a wave. He returns it hesitantly before quickly dropping his arm. Sweet Pea just looks at you like you’ve killed his puppy. You don’t pay any attention to him as you and Monty head out to his bike in the parking lot. 

When you get to the diner you see Betty and Jughead sitting in their usual booth. Their work spread out in front of them. 

“Hey Betty! Hey Jughead!” you greet as you and Monty walk in. The two look up and send you both a smile. 

“Who’s this?” questions Jughead as you and Monty sit down in front of them. 

“This is Monty, he wanted to join the study session tonight. I hope that’s okay?” 

“Yes of course it is,” Says Betty as she sits up straighter.

“Monty this is Betty and Jughead, I’ve told you about them right?” 

“Yeah yeah, it’s good to meet you guys.”

His arm drapes across the back of the booth and you try to push aside the rush of emotions. You aren’t sure if it’s nostalgia from another arm or if you actually like him as more than a friend. 

“You okay?” he asks softly in your ear.

“Yeah, just having trouble concentrating.”

He drops his hand onto your back and begins to rub it, “You seem stressed out, anything I can do?” 

You glance up at the sincerity in his eyes and smile, “No I’ll be okay…”

“What’s your favorite milkshake?”

“What?”

“You need something to pep you up, I’m going to get you your favorite milkshake.”

“Oh um… chocolate malt…”

“Coming right up beautiful!”

You falter as he jumps from his seat and heads over to the counter.

“You should keep this one…” says Betty as she glances over her shoulder at him. 

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s obviously into you, and he’s being super sweet! You need someone to be sweet to you after all that happened with Sweet Pea.”

“Look… it’s not a big deal, he’s just being nice!”

“Trust me… that is not what ‘just being nice’ looks like,” she says with a knowing look.

Betty clams up as he walks back over to you carrying your chocolate malt milkshake. He sets it down in front of you before dropping back down into the booth next to you. 

“Go on, you’ve had a rough week,” he says with a sweet smile before you take the milkshake and begin to happily sip on it. 

The next week is much the same, Monty begins to fill up your entire day. He brings you coffee in the morning and walks you to class. He gives you a ride home and stays at your house to study and your mom loves him. He hangs out with you and your friends and encourages you to have your space with them. He showers you complements and small tokens of affection. And slowly, Sweet Pea, especially with the distance that you’ve put between the two of you, drifts from you mind. 

Monty is everything in a guy you could ever possibly want...

...and it’s killing Sweet Pea...

 

Dare and Tori are on either side of you as you walk down the hallway. 

“So you still aren’t talking to Pea?” questions Dare. 

“He’s hasn’t made an attempt to apologize for what he said about me.”

“Wait. What did he say about you?” Questions Tori.

“He said I was just a slut and I was just using the Serpents until I find someone better.”

“I’ve never heard him say anything like that…” says Dare suspiciously. 

“What do you mean?” you ask softly.

“I mean that boy talked about you like you were the goddess Aphrodite herself.”

“Well he was super jealous of Jughead… and he didn’t have a reason to be…”

“Pea’s used to losing people, everyone he’s ever cared about has left him, well except for Gumdrop and Fangs. I mean you know his mom just up and split a few years ago right?”

“I mean yeah but...he didn’t have to lash out at me like that…”

“No he didn’t, but he doesn’t really know how to deal with certain emotions without anger. He’s getting better but when he feels threatened by someone in the form of taking someone away from him, he gets pissed.”

“That’s just it! Jughead wasn’t taking me away from him!”

“Well we know that… but did he?”

You had not spoken a word to Sweet Pea in two weeks, ever since your epic blow up at the Wyrm. That means it’s been three weeks since you had started to fight with him and you missed him. You weren’t sure you could admit how much you missed him even to yourself. 

“Well when he’s ready to apologize I’ll listen to him… I have it on good authority that he said some pretty awful things about me.”

“Who is your ‘good authority?’’ asks Tori as she slings an arm around your shoulder. 

“Monty, he said that Sweet Pea was going around saying a bunch of horrible things about me.”

“And you believed him?”

“What? Well not entirely at first….”

“You seriously believed Monty when he said that Pea was talking shit about you?”

“Monty has been nothing but nice to me!”

“Yeah… to get to Pea…”

“No! He genuinely likes me!”

“Girl… Monty has had it out for Sweets for years! Of course he’s been sweet to you! He’s trying to drive Sweet Pea crazy!”

The three of you are almost knocked down when there is a flood of students rushing from behind you. You can hear the distance chant of ‘Fight’ as you near the place where a large crowd is gathered. The three of you exchange looks and with a bad feeling and prayer you are rushing off down the hallway towards the crowd. 

You can see Sweet Pea and Monty in the middle of the crowd exchanging blows. Monty whispers something to Sweet Pea and you watch a pained expression grace his handsome features. Monty’s punch catches him in the stomach and the breath is knocked from Sweet Pea’s lungs. He’s hunched over trying to protect his body from anymore damage. 

“You know what the best part is? How good she is in bed… I mean that girl is a pro at riding me… She feels so good no matter what position and trust me… She’s down for anything…”

“Fuck...you...Monty...She’s not...that...girl…”

“What you think just because she isn’t giving you the time of day that she didn’t suck my cock dry? HA! I fucked her so hard she forgot about your pathetic ass!” Monty rears back and kicks Sweet Pea in the ribs and the moment he hits the floor you see red. You see your Sweet Pea broken on the floor and you lose it.

You push your way through the crowd and tap Monty on the shoulder. He turns to you and the cocky smirk on his face falls. You don’t even think as you rear back and punch him square in the nose, you know... just like your dad taught you. He stumbles back clutching his nose before you tackle him to the floor and punch him across his cheek your ring catching his cheek bone. Blood seeps out of the cut as you get him again in the eye. It’s not until you are hauled off of him that you realize what you’ve done. 

“YOU THREE! MY OFFICE. NOW!” you glance up and see the principal standing over you all. The three of you freeze, you struggling to get out of Sweet Pea’s arms, Monty struggling to get off the floor and Sweet Pea is just struggling. Sweet Pea puts you down and you share an awkward glance with him. The three of you trudge to the office with Monty holding his bloody nose and Sweet Pea holding his bruised ribs. 

While in the office the three of you get the mandatory yelling and 2 days suspension. You would probably be more upset about being suspended if you weren’t nervous about the fact that you know you’re going to have to talk to him. 

‘What if he hates me? I can’t believe that I was stupid enough to believe Monty over him! What if he never speaks to me again! I never meant to hurt him like this… I was just mad at him!’ 

Your thoughts are racing as you step out of the office. 

“Hey (Your Name)... I just wanted to say…”

“SAVE IT MONTY!” you yell rounding on the boy who visibly takes two steps back, “You used me to get to Sweet Pea! You paraded me around and then you said all that shit about me that isn’t true in the least bit! WORST OF ALL you LIED to me! You LIED to me about Sweet Pea and what he said to me! You wanted to drive us apart as part of a sick and twisted game! Fuck You!”

“WHY SHOULD HE GET YOU? HE DOESN’T DESERVE YOU! He’s not as good to you as I am! Wasn’t I the best friend you’ve ever had? I would not be the PERFECT boyfriend for you!” he yells.

 

“I can’t believe you! I’m not a prize! You don’t deserve me! You don’t deserve anyone! You are not ENTITLED to a human being!! FUCK OFF MONTY!”

You turn around and lock eyes with Sweet Pea and you feel your eyes fill up with tears. 

“Pea…” you mutter in a broken voice as he closes his eye as if he’s in actual pain, “Will you forgive me?”

“Only if you forgive me baby doll…” he mutter lowly as he takes a step towards you. 

Your breath catches in your throat as you rush towards him and throw your arms around him. He wraps you into a hug and you start to sob into his chest. He murmurs soothing words into your ears and softly strokes your hair as he tries to calm you. You just grip onto him tighter hoping to never let go, you can’t stand the thought that you’ve hurt him. Any anger that you may have had completely melts away and all you feel is content for the first in a long time.


	12. Girl Meets Tranquility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A relaxing day is not so relaxing after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter starts the beginning of Season 2! We are FINALLY here! Who is ready for some Northside Drama?!

It is a well known fact that the Serpents were more family than they were gang for the most part. However, the unrest that Monty had caused the members would not be forgotten especially when word got around the higher ups about what had happened. No one was really sure what the aftermath of an all out Serpent brawl looked like, but many had their own ideas and opinions. 

 

You heaved a sigh as you watched Sweet Pea from where you were sitting at the Whyte Wyrm. Tall Boy had challenged the younger Serpent to a game and Sweet Pea had been unable to resist. You had spent the last few days at the Wyrm since you were suspended from school, so had Sweet Pea and Monty and the duo had visible tension. Your other friends were at school, even though Fangs had played hooky one day to keep you company, most of the past few days had been spent in Sweet Pea’s company. Not that you were complaining, things had fallen back into place like nothing had ever happened. 

“Hey Babydoll!” you glanced up at Sweet Pea, noticing that his eyes were on you. 

“Yeah, Pea?” 

“You okay?”

You just nod with a smile sending him a thumbs up. He gave you one of his intense looks, before nodding and going back to his game. 

“As attentive as ever I see.”

You glance over your shoulder at the voice, which belongs to Monty. You feel the silence in the room before you hear the heavy footfalls of Sweet Pea. With a snarl he is standing in front of you and you place a hand on his bicep to hold him back. He glances down at you to gauge your reaction, before fixing Monty with a hard stare. 

“Why are you talking to her Monty?”

“The lady can speak for herself.”

“Oh? So now I’m a lady?” you snap as you step from behind Sweet Pea, your anger getting the better of you. 

Monty at least has enough grace to look ashamed. 

“Look… I just wanted to say I’m sorry about the things I said. I really do like you okay?”

“Okay… thank you for your apology, but what you did wasn’t okay. You lied to me, lied to Sweet Pea, spread rumors about me and hurt me and the people I care about for your agenda. Please leave me alone.” 

You watched as his lips tightened before he nodded stiffly and turned away. You feel Sweet Pea relax next to you before he turned an picked up his jacket and threw a $20 on the table. 

“You win Tall Boy, I’m out of here.”

“A Serpent never quits a game boy!” Tall Boy yells behind you as Sweet Pea puts his arm over your shoulder and steers you towards the door. You could feel him vibrating even if he seemed calm on the outside. 

 

“Pea, you okay?” you ask softly as you turn away from his bike.

“Yeah Babydoll...I’m fine.”

“No you aren’t…”

“I just can’t stand him talking to you! He doesn't have a right! Not after what he did!”

You wrap your arms around him and pull him towards you, tucking your head under his chin. His arms wrap themselves around you and you feel him tighten his grip. You love being surrounded by him. It feels safe. He feels safe. You inhale his familiar scent of cologne, smoke and that heady musky scent that is entirely him and just relax in his arms. You don’t think about the rest of the world for just a moment.   
“You know you don’t have anything to worry about, right? He isn’t you.”  
You feel him relax in your arms.  
“Damn straight he isn’t...” 

You laugh as you pull away and up into his eyes. 

“Good to see you haven’t lost your ego… I was beginning to wonder where it had gone,” you said with a Cheshire like smile. 

“Fuck off…” he murmurs with a laugh before he climbs onto the bike with you following quickly behind him. 

You laugh as you settle behind him and wrap your arms around his waist, “You would like that wouldn’t you?” 

You feel a slight shiver go down his spine and you giggle as you hug him tighter to you. 

He rolls his shoulders and starts his bike. You tighten your grip so you don’t fall off as you take off down the street. 

You don’t really care where he’s taking you, you trust him and are honestly just along for the ride at this point. When you start to head out of town you know where the two of you are going. The familiar path to the Quarry gives you time to relax and you find yourself resting your head on Sweet Pea’s back. You watch as the trees go by and feel completely content. 

When you get there the two of you head towards the water and sink into the cool grass. He is laying on his back with his knees up. Your head is resting on his bicep as you gaze up at the sky. The rushing water of the river the only sound between the two of you. 

You lay like that for several minutes before he breaks the silence. 

“So there is this awesome band playing in Greendale this weekend… you want to go?”

Your head rolls toward him to face him and you give him a soft smile. 

“Sure,” you say simply before rolling your head back towards the sky. 

You miss his smile and the look of contentment that overtakes his face. 

You spend the rest of the afternoon laying by the river talking about nothing and everything. Should you be more worried about what was going on in school or in town? Probably. However, things with you and Sweet Pea were the best they had been in weeks and neither of you intend to destroy the peace between the two of you. In fact, you both noticed that the things seemed much better than it ever had before. You and he were closer now. 

It’s hours later as the sun begins to set over the horizon and the chill of evening hangs in the air, that he pulls you closer to him. You rest your head on his chest and the steady beat of his heart is the only thing breaking the silence of the world around you. 

“You hungry Babydoll?” he questions softly has you feel him glance down at you. 

You just nod, still sleepy from your lazy afternoon, before you sit up with him following behind you. The two of you glance at one another before you share a smile and stretch before you stand up. You turn around hold out a hand to pull him to his feet with a little bit of effort. He pulls you towards him and brings his arm around you, making you stumble before you fall into step beside him. 

You make your way back up the bank and towards where the two of you left his bike...only it’s not there anymore.

“What the actual fuck,” is the only thing you hear from Sweet Pea before he loses it. 

“WHO TOOK MY BIKE?! It was RIGHT here!!” He groans and throws his hands up and they tangle into his hair. 

You look around hoping against hope that the two of you just got the place wrong.

“Who would steal your bike?!” you exclaim as you look around. 

“You want the short list or the long list?” he practically snarls at you as he turns to look at you.

“Hey! Don’t take this out on me! I’m in the same boat as you!” you scold him. 

“Sorry… You’re right…Damnit!” 

“I’ll call Toni… hopefully her and Fangs can come to get us…” you murmur with a groan as you pull your phone from your pocket. Looking down you notice that your phone is dead. 

“Shit! It’s dead!

 

“How is it dead?” he ask exasperated as he pulls his own phone from his jacket pocket.

“I don’t know! It must be roaming out here and that always drains the battery… Sweet Pea?”

You glance up at the unusually quiet Serpent and notice the way his brow is furrowed. 

“Sweets?” you ask. 

“My phone is dead too…” he grumbles quietly, almost in shock.

“What?”

“Fuck!” he yells before looking around frantically, almost like he too thought that maybe, just maybe the two of you had the wrong place. 

You watch as Sweet Pea very visible takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

With his eyes still closed he murmurs just so you can hear, “There is a convenience store down the road, we can walk there and use their phone to call someone.”

You nod and the two of you start off down the deserted road, the earlier peace of the afternoon shattered by the events of the evening. The stars start to poke out from the sky and the temperature drops. You can feel the wind picking up and notice the hunched over form of Sweet Pea with his hands in his pockets, and his furrowed brows. 

“Pea?” you ask quietly, almost like you are afraid of destroying silence.

“Yeah Babydoll?”

“It’s cold…” you murmur softly as you cross your arms a little tighter.

You feel him step closer to you and pull your towards him. His arms go around you and you feel his large hands rub up and down your arms to generate heat. 

“It’s not too much farther, then we can call the gang and have someone come get us.”

You just nod, “Do you think there will be something hot to drink?”

He gives a soft smirk as he turns to look down at you, “I’m sure there will.” 

You just nod in acceptance as the two of you keep going, his arm firmly around you. You didn’t want to admit how scared and unsure you were. 

“You okay?” he asks suddenly. 

You glance up at him and notice the concern in his eyes, you give him a shaky smile and a nod, “Yeah Pea… I’m okay, just ready to be home.”

“Me too Babydoll…”

It takes about 45 minutes of walking for the two of you to see glowing lights in the distance. You both perk up at seeing the little store and speed up to get to it sooner. Once inside Sweet Pea goes up to the counter and asks to use the phone. The guy behind the counter looks behind Sweet Pea at you, and you duck your head to avoid his gaze. You just want to be home and warm. 

You are vaguely aware of Sweet Pea talking to someone on the other end of the phone. His tone is tense and you can tell he’s pissed. Neither of you know who took his bike, but you know Pea is going to rain hellfire down on whoever did. He turns back toward you and says that Fangs and Toni are on their way. 

You just nod and notice the man still seems to be looking at you. Sweet Pea noticing your stare turns around looks at the guy who just smiles at him. 

“So yer one of those Serpents?” he questions. 

“Yeah…” Pea answers with a hard tone, “What of it?”

“Nothin… Just seen another one of ya in here a few hours ago.”

Sweet Pea narrows his eyes, “What did he look like?”

The guy, who was probably in his mid twenties, smiles a creepy yellow smile, “That information is gonna cost ya…”

 

“Cost me what?” Sweet Pea’s tone is hard and his voice is rough with suppressed anger and annoyance. Even the store clerk can see this is the not the day to test the Serpent in front of him. 

You feel the guys gaze before you even know it’s on you. 

“Look at her again…” Sweet Pea’s voice has dropped to a deep growl, “and you’re going to regret it.”

The guy straightens up and clears his throat before mumbling something about a guy with longer black hair that is tall and lanky. 

“Monty,” Pea hisses, rage engulfing his features. 

Thankfully the headlights of a truck shine through the window and you are saved by the figures of Toni and Fangs as they both walk into the convenience store. 

“You guys okay?” Toni is the first one in the door and rushing over to you. 

“Yeah we’re fine…” you mutter softly. 

“You’re sure?”

“She says she’s fine Topaz,” Grunts Sweet Pea from behind you.

“I was just asking Pea, no need to get your panties in a bunch,” Toni snips back. 

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes before he pushes past everyone out of the convenience store. Both Fangs and Toni look at you with confusion. 

“He’s… dealing with himself right now…”

“The bike?” questions Fangs. 

“The bike,” you confirm.

“Well this is going to be a fun ride home…” grumbles Toni as she leads you out the door and towards the truck. 

Everyone could feel the anger radiating off of Sweet Pea and the silence in the truck is deafening. At least it is until you pull his arm around your shoulders and snuggle into him. He looks down at you and you just smile up at him. He gives you a half smile of his own and finally relaxes against you. It isn’t long until you both drift off to sleep.


	13. Girl Meets Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a threat and Sweet Pea doesn't take it very well...

Fear. Fear can do a lot to people, especially in a place where fear rules the world. In the town of Riverdale the Northside and Southside may as well have been different worlds. News of the Blackhood had spread to the Southside, moreso, news that the Northside thinks someone in the Southside is actually the Blackhood. Sometimes living in Riverdale is like living the plot of a bad movie, where even when you are innocent... you are guilty. In the end… it all comes down to one thing...Fear.

Gazing at Sweet Pea’s black eye you just shake your head. 

“What does Monty look like?” you question with a barely there smirk. 

He smirks back, “Way worse…”

You roll your eyes as you sit down in your usual seat. A moment later when Jughead Jones walks into the room you whip your head towards him in complete confusion.

“Umm… Jughead… I think you’re in the wrong school…”

 

“Oh… right…. I forgot to tell you…I go to this school now,” he says looking around distracted by how different everything is.

“Well thanks for telling me… When did that happen?”

“Today?”

“You know what I mean…” you say in exasperation. 

A moment later your teacher walks into the room and starts the lesson. 

“Fahrenheit 451, by one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury. Start with the title, can anyone tell me it’s significance?”

“WHAT? Damnit!” yells Sweet Pea as he kicks the chair out of his way and storms out of the room. 

You just roll your eyes and ignore his outburst like the rest of the class. Perhaps you are getting a little too used to it?

“People… there is a burning book on the cover,” you teacher says sounding exasperated, you aren’t sure if it’s from Sweet Pea’s outburst or the silence in the room.

Jughead squeezes his eyes shut in annoyance at the silence before he says, “Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper burns. It was a pleasure to burn.” 

“Good job Mr. Jones... Welcome to hell.”

Jughead glances over at you before a paper wad is thrown at him. You just shrug and mouth ‘keep your head down.’ He frowns at you before he turns back to the front of the room. 

When the bell at the end of class rings you rush off to find Sweet Pea when Jughead waves you off telling you he’s going to talk to the teacher about opening up the Red and Black again. 

Walking down the hallway you see Sweet Pea leaning against your locker waiting for you. 

“Take care of business?” you ask as you join him.

“You know it,” he says with a sigh as he leans back against the locker, his head falling back with a metallic thud.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me…”

“Just not sure how I feel about that Jones’ kid being here that’s all.”

“Why is that?”

He just shrugs in a non committal way. 

“This isn’t about…”

“No.”

“Okay… but be nice to him okay? He’s my friend and he’s obviously been through alot.”

He rolls his eyes as he seems to physically pull himself from the locker. 

“Whatever… Second period is going to suck…”

“Did you do the homework?”

“We had homework?”

“Toni didn’t tell you?”

“Would I have done it?”

“No…”

“Then why would she have told me?”

“I don’t know Pea… that was a mistake on my part… sorry…” you with sarcasm as you hold your hands up in a surrender pose. 

The two of you head off down the hallway to class and end up having a relatively peaceful day, all things considered. 

Sweets: Ready to go to the quarry?

You: Sure! Do we have backup this time??

Sweets: Yeah… a bunch of guys are going

You: Sounds good! Did you invite Jughead?

Sweets: He doesn’t want to go.

You: Did you actually ask him?

Sweets: YES! And he doesn’t want to go. He’s so fucking ungrateful!

You: Ungrateful?

Sweets: Yeah ungrateful.

It’s at that moment you see Sweet Pea coming down the hallway and put your phone in your pocket. 

“How is he ungrateful?” you ask picking up the conversation where you left off. 

“He asked the Serpents for help with his dad and now he thinks he can just throw us to the side now that he has what he needs.”

“Why would he ask the Serpents for help?”

“He’s FP Jones’ kid…”

“Okay…”

“The Serpent King.”

“Does he have a crown?”

Sweet Pea turns to looks at you in annoyance and you just hold your hands up in surrender. 

“Sorry I asked…”

“It just pisses me off because he’s treated like some kind of prince and he doesn’t even want to have shit to do with us. Like we’re some kind of embarrassment.”

“It probably has less to do with the Serpents and more to do with his dad…”

“Whatever.”

“Okay well… The quarry sounds nice today.”

“Sure.”

“So much attitude and so little time…”

He rolls his eyes at you but smirks anyway. It would be the first time that you are really hanging out with everyone after what happened a week or so ago. You couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. You try to shake the feelings off as you make your way to your locker. Sweet Pea leans against the locker next to yours as you open the door and you take a tiny jump back as something falls to the floor. Sweet Pea looks down at the small square that is on the floor and furrows his brows in confusion and concern. You reach down to pick it up and inspect the outside of the red paper in your hands. You open the paper and a chill runs down your spine. Written in a black bold sharpie are the words “YOUR NEXT PRINCESS.”

Sweet Pea grabs the paper out of your hands and crumbles it up.

“This isn’t fuckin’ funny,” he says with barely contained rage. 

“I’m sure it’s just a prank Pea…” you mutter but can’t keep the trimmer out of your voice. 

“I don’t care. We’re showing the others.”

You just nod as you follow him down the hallway. 

You get to the quarry and Sweet Pea wastes no time in gathering the others.

“We have a threat against (Y/N),” he says as he throws the note down on the ground. 

“You think it’s that Black Hood guy?” Questions Fangs as he picks up the note to look at it. 

“Probably not…” says Toni popping her gum, “They didn’t even use the right ‘you’re’, it’s probably just a Ghoulie.”

“Should we care though?” questions a Serpent you didn’t know, “I mean… she’s not an official Serpent and she’s caused plenty of trouble. 

“What did you say?” questions Sweet Pea with a dangerous tone. 

“You heard me dude… that fight between you and Monty will have consequences.”

“Just because you’re up her ass doesn't mean we have to be…” interjects another. 

“Seriously guys? She’s Serpent by association now. Besides… you all know that was Monty’s shit not hers!” chimes in Tori a chorus of ‘yeahs’ going up from several members. 

“Whatever… I’m not getting involved with her shit… between her and Jones we’ve done enough charity work for one year.” With that several members turn and walk away leaving you and your friends. 

Sweet Pea turns to you a moment later, “Don’t worry Babydoll, you’re going to be fine.”

You look up at him not sure if you will be for the first time since you met him. 

“You know you haven’t hung out with Gumdrop in a while, want to go home and chill for the day?”

You just nod, the reaction from the other Serpents confirming your fears and making you feel self conscience and scared. 

You’ve never really talked with Sweet Pea about your anxiety, but it is getting the better of you today. You’re in a daze as you sit at the kitchen table with Gumdrop to your left. A variety of paints sit between the two of you, but you just gaze down at the white paper before you.

“Are you okay?” Gumdrop asks quietly shaking you from your revery. 

You glance up at her startled from your thoughts and just send her a small smile and a nod. 

“It’s okay if you’re scared… but big brother won’t let anything happen to you. He loves you too much for that.”

“Gumdrop you ready for dinner?” Sweet Pea interrupts. You can see the slight blush on his face as he avoids your eyes obviously hearing what his little sister said. 

You smile softly at the thought of Sweet Pea loving you, “Need help Pea?” 

He glances over at you but shakes his head ‘no.’ You just nod in acceptance before picking up a paint brush and starting to put down color. You barely acknowledge when a plate of spaghetti is set down beside you and Sweet Pea drops into the chair across from you. It’s silent in the small kitchen for several moments as you finish your painting. A vision of colors dance on the page in various tones of blues, teals and greens with a splash of silver as the moon. In black pen you outline two figures standing front of the water. 

“I’m taking the note to the leaders. You’re not going to deal with this by yourself.” 

You glance up to see an intense look on his face. 

“I should tell my parents…” you say softly as you take a bite of the food beside you absentmindedly. 

He nods as he continues to look at you with that intense look, “You know I’m not letting anything happen to you right?”

“I know Pea… It’s going to be okay…” you say to yourself as you gaze down at the picture. 

“I just haven’t seen you this scared in a while.”

“It’s anxiety… Sometimes it just hits harder than others and I’m plagued with these obsessive thoughts. Like I can’t stop seeing that note. It’s honestly so hard to focus and I’m practically vibrating with effort right now. My chest feels tight and my head won’t stop and I know if I let it… it’s going to be a full blown panic attack.”

“What do you need?” he asks his voice tight with repressed fear masked with concern. 

“Quiet… and reassurance.” 

He just nods as he looks at you.

“I’m scared he’s going to come for Sweet Pea…”

“Who? The Black Hood? Let him try.”

Looking up into Sweet Pea’s eyes you see the vindication there, and for the first time in hours you feel truly safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you all.


	14. Girl Meets Sweet Pea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks like trouble for you...
> 
> well... better make that double.

In the Southside where gang violence reigns supreme, sometimes you forget that there are other ways that a gang will retaliate. The Serpents are a huge gang that spans many towns, cities and states. It is a force to be recommended with, and yet the Ghoulies don’t seem to care. Is it just blatant stupidity, or do they know something that we don’t? Sometimes, one must wonder how many drops of poison reside in the Serpents, and what can be done about it, if anything.

The next day started normal enough with a ride to school on the back of Sweet Pea’s bike and the general gossip with the girls around your locker. You didn’t think anything of the police and drug dogs as they went rampaging through the school. Unfortunately, at Southside high this is just a normal everyday occurrence. 

What was not normal was what happened next…

“WILL (Y/N) (L/N) COME TO THE OFFICE PLEASE.”

You look up at the speaker with furrowed brows and glance over at Sweet Pea who looks equally concerned. 

You hesitantly get up from your desk with all eyes on you and walk out the door. The whispers starting before the door to the classroom was even shut behind you. The only sound in the hallway is the click of your heels against the dirty linoleum floor. 

When you get there the principal is sitting behind his desk with an officer standing behind him. 

“Am I in trouble?” you ask with fear in your voice. 

“Sit down Miss (L/N).”

You do as you’re told with wide eyes glancing in between your principal and the officier. The officer then adjusts his belt and steps out from behind the desk. 

“Miss (Y/N), we found this in your locker,” he says indicating large stash of Jingle Jangle, “Do you know anything about it?”

“What?! No! No of course not! It’s not mine!”

“Really? Because we got a tip from an anonymous source yesterday that you deal Jingle Jangle.”

“I don’t! I don’t know the first thing about any of this! I promise that isn’t mine!” you voice rising in panic.

“You’ve been hanging around the Serpents an awful lot Miss (L/N) are they making you do something you don’t want? You can tell us.”

“What?! No of course not! They are my friends they...protect me…”

“From who?”

“The Ghoulies…. It must them! They set me up!”

“Well Miss (L/N) if that’s the case you have nothing to hide and you won’t mind coming with us.”

“Where?”

“To the precinct.” 

You feel the blood drain from your face and you can almost feel yourself turn ghost white. 

“But I didn’t do anything….”

“Of course not, Miss (L/N),” the tone is condescending. 

‘He doesn’t believe me…’ echos through your mind. 

You stand up on shaky legs and the officer opens the door where 3 other policemen are waiting. 

You feel your heart pounding in your head and you feel faint. 

The doors to the classrooms open and students, despite the yelling of the teachers inside, spill into the hallway. A familiar voice shouts your name as you hear heavy footfalls coming down the hallway. 

You don’t even know what is happening before Sweet Pea is literally tackled against the lockers by 2 large and imposing cops. Sweet Pea has a wild look in his eyes as he struggles against the cops yelling profanities. You make to move towards him but the officer you had been talking to grabs your arm and pulls you back towards him. You whip your head around to look up at him with tears in your eyes. 

“Don’t let them hurt him! Please! Don’t let them hurt him! He’s…”

You catch Toni’s eyes as you pass her, “Call my dad! Calm down Sweet Pea and call my dad!”

Toni looks at you with wide eyed confusion as she nods. She grabs a bewildered Fangs by the arm and turns to where Sweet Pea is going berserk against the lockers. 

Glancing to your left as someone screams your name you see written on the lockers in bright red spray paint the words…

YOU CHOSE WRONG.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” You grumble under your breath as you are forced out of the door. 

The last thing you see before the door to the police car is shut are the soulless lenses of your classmates cameras. 

The car ride to the police station is a short one, but the jarring realization that you are indeed being set up helped to clear your mind. 

They set you up in a room with a female officer sitting across from you, more or less, staring you down as you refuse to answer any questions. 

You’re sitting in room winning the quiet game as you hear a racket from outside. A moment later the door opens to show a frazzled looking police officer.

“You’re free to go…”

You only nod as you look up at him and go to walk towards the door. Standing on the other side is your father with a look that would kill a lion, if one was in the room that is. 

“Ready to go Princess?” 

You just nod as you walk to stand next to him.

“Mr. (L/N) we’ll be in touch… this isn’t over,” says the police officer from before. 

“Trust me… It is… You just don’t know it yet,” you father growls a hard edge to his voice. 

You walk into the Whyte Wyrm a few paces behind your father. 

“Tall Boy! We need to talk…” the gruff voice of your father echoes throughout the now silent bar. 

Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs who had been in the corner freeze at seeing you. Sweet Pea is standing and making his way over to you in a second before you father is standing between the two of you. 

“You’re that Sweet Pea boy,” you dad states taking a step back to appraise him. He nods a few times before he looks back at you.

“He any good at fighting?”

“The best,” you say without breaking eye contact. 

“Snake Eye!” Roars Tall Boy from the stairs leading down into the bar area. 

You notice the look of panic that takes over Sweet Pea’s face and the looks of shock that your friends send you. 

“We have a problem.” 

“Does it have anything to do with your daughter?” Tall Boy asks as he makes his way over to the two of you.

“You could say that… moreso about the punk who thinks he can frame my princess for something she didn’t do.”

“What punk is that?”

“Monty,” Sweet Pea growls as he takes a step forward. 

“That the little shit’s name?”

“Yes Sir,” Sweet Pea says with a ramrod straight back and blank expression. 

This is the side of Sweet Pea that is Serpent, that gets things done, that compartmentalizes the work he does from the person he wants to be. Sometimes you forget that Sweet Pea is a member of a gang…

“You had a lot of trouble out of him?”

“Yes Sir, he broke the code.”

“How did he break the code?” you ask in bewilderment.

“HOW DID HE BREAK THE CODE?!” your father yells startling you. 

“A SERPENT NEVER BETRAYS HIS OWN,” echoes in the building around you. Every single person in the room had yelled the law out. 

“Sweet Pea… You’ve been spending a lot of time with my princess...How are you going to take care of this?” Your father asks turning towards the Serpent before him. 

Sweet Pea squares his shoulders and looks your father squarely in the eyes and with a deadly calm, “I’m going to make him pay. No one messes with (Y/N) and gets away with it. No One.”

A chill goes down your spine at his words. You feel your heart start to race and your stomach flutters. 

“Good. We’ll take care of it on Friday night then. You know what to do.”

“Yes, Sir!” Sweet Pea says as turns towards the crowd and yells out a few names, some you recognize and some you don’t. 

“Where is he going?” you ask hesitantly. 

“Don’t worry Princess… This is all going to be over soon.”

You look up at your father with worry in your eyes you watch Sweet Pea with his gang trail out of the Whyte Wyrm. You can feel the anxiety of the unknown rearing its ugly head. 

 

You’ve never really attempted to get any Serpent business out of Sweet Pea. It has always been an unspoken agreement that you should just leave that part of his life alone. You never ask where he gets the money for rent or groceries. How Gumdrop has a new pair of shoes or a nice jacket. However the realization that your own father is a higher up in the Serpents changes the game. 

“You know I can’t tell you.”

“But aren’t I practically a Serpent now anyway?” you argue back.

“What are you looking at?!” you snap as a freshman stares at you as you approach him. He averts his eyes and attempts to hide behind his locker door when Sweet Pea snarls in his direction. 

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes, “You’re Serpent by association, by your dad and by me, that doesn’t mean that you get information.”

“I just want to know what’s going to happen this Friday!”

“Look. Monty has shown where his loyalties lie, and it’s not with the Serpents.”

“What do you mean it’s not with the Serpents?”

Sweet Pea pauses and pulls your arm back so you turn to look at him, he pulls you close and look intently into your eyes, “He’s a Ghoulie. He’s been dealing for them for months now and when you got the best of them they…”

“What Sweet Pea?!”

“...made you a target.”

You take a deep breath and go to pull away from him. 

“Don’t worry Babydoll I’m going to take care of this.”

“I don’t understand… Why isn’t my dad? What is going on Sweet Pea.”

“I have to be the one to finish this.”

“Why you?”

“Because I told your dad I would protect you no matter what.”

 

When Friday night comes you watch with bated breath as Sweet Pea drags Monty before Tall Boy and your father. You can’t keep the tightness out of your chest. You’ve never seen that look on Sweet Pea’s face before. Monty is practically thrown to the ground before the men, he tries the hide the look of fear, but he can’t seem to. 

“Your jacket boy,” says Tall Boy holding out his hand. 

Monty just squares his jaw and goes to pull the jacket from his shoulders. After he takes it off he throws it into Tall Boy’s hand. 

“You’ve disrespected the Serpents by joining the Ghoulies, waging an attack on one of your own and going against the Serpent way by targeting someone protected by the Serpents. Are you ready to receive your punishment?”

“Give me your worst.”

“Sweet Pea! Are you ready?”

You look over at Sweet Pea to see the brass knuckles on his right hand. He rolls his shoulders and cracks his knuckles. 

“Yes, Sir.”

Sometimes you forget that Sweet Pea is in a gang, and there is a side of him you’ve never even met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you all!


	15. Girl Meets Violence

The Serpens did not get to be one of the most feared gangs in all of Riverdale by letting things slide. Anyone who knows anything about them knows that not only are they not to be messed with, that the laws and loyalty is the foundation of the gang. When someone steps out of line or disrespects the family, there are swift and sure consequences. Monty should have known better.

***24 HOURS BEFORE THE FIGHT***

You walk in the door after your father that evening, still bewildered about what just happened. 

“You’ve chosen a good one… That’s good,” he says as he casually pulls the Serpent jacket from his shoulders. 

“What do you mean ‘I’ve chosen a good one?’” you ask in obvious confusion. 

“Well, it was only a matter of time before this life found you, why do you think I’ve trained you your entire life? You now have someone who has your back when I’m not around. I’ve checked into Sweet Pea, he’s a good Serpent.”

Flashes of your childhood flash before your eyes, you see the moments your father taught you how to fight, where to conceal a switchblade, how to properly handle and shoot a gun. You hear the sounds of motorcycle engines fading into the distance at odd hours of the night. Suddenly, so much of your childhood makes sense. Suddenly… you understand why when you started to spend more time with the Serpents it felt like coming home. 

“What do you mean… you checked into Sweet Pea? Did he know who you were?”

“No… he had no idea, and that only makes his loyalty to you even better. And if a Serpent is going to be hanging around my daughter, he has to be the right kind of Serpent. For his age, Sweet Pea has the highest success rate for missions, and is trust often to run jobs that Serpents older than him aren’t trusted to do. He is trustworthy, loyal and reliable, as I said before… You’ve chosen well.”

You only blink up at your father in bewilderment as you only nod and turn to walk up the stairs to your room. You can feel your head pounding from the day you’ve had. It has been stressful and you’re exhausted, really all you really want to do is sleep.

***NOW***

You wince as Sweet Pea’s fist connects with Monty’s jaw and he stumbles back. Sweet Pea doesn't let up and throws another punch, catching Monty in the stomach making him double over. Blood mixed with saliva drop from his mouth, he wraps his arms around his midsection hoping to protect himself, but Sweet Pea doesn’t care. In a moment, he has Monty in a headlock and begins to send punches to his face. 

Your hands are over your mouth and your eyes are wide with shock as you watch Sweet Pea completely annihilate Monty. He has an excitement in his eyes you’ve never seen before. He is completely in his element right now and he is a sight to behold. Monty struggles out of the vice like grip that Sweet Pea has on him and attempts to protect his face. All it takes is one swift punch and Sweet Pea knocks him on the ground and he goes to finish him off with a swift kick to the ribs. 

“Sweet Pea!” you yell. 

He doesn’t hear you over the roar of the other Serpents in the bar. Without even thinking you run out and grab his forearm. He turns to look at you with eyes clouded with the lust for the fight. 

Monty looks up and laughs, “That’s right Sweet Pea… listen to your little who-” 

He doesn’t get to finish as Sweet Pea sends a swift kick to his ribs, making him curl in on himself. You heave a sigh as you look up into Sweet Pea’s eyes before you throw your hands up in defeat and turn away. Sweet Pea bends down and pulls Monty off the floor making him cough up blood and groan in pain. He throws him onto the nearest pool table and holds him there by his collar.

“You ever come near (Y/N) again, I’ll end you. You come near the Serpents again, I’ll end you. You come anywhere near my family again, and I. Will. End. You. Do you understand?” Sweet Pea asks in his deep gruff voice. It sends shivers down your spine. 

Monty gasps out a barely audible ‘yes’ before Sweet Pea throw him back on the table and turns to walk away. The Serpents erupt into cheers around Sweet Pea as he just holds up one arm in victory. Your dad walks forward and claps him on the shoulder in pride before he motions for a couple of guys to haul Monty away. 

In the middle of it all, you are left feeling confused and disoriented. You are trying to wrap your head around this side of the Sweet Pea that you have just witnessed. Without a word you turn to walk away.

“Babydoll!” you hear Sweet Pea behind you, “You okay?” 

You look up into the familiar eyes of the Sweet Pea you know, “Fine Sweets… This is all just a little much to take in…”

He stares intently into your eyes, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing… I just...need a minute…” you say as you break away from him and make your way outside. The cool night air helps with your pounding head and racing pulse. You run your fingers through your hair messing it up and tossing it to one side of your neck. You relish in the cool night air and stand there staring up at the stars. You don’t notice when someone walks out the door behind you. It’s not until a pair of arms wrap around you and a chin comes to rest on your head that you look up at the person surrounding you. 

“I need to know you’re okay,” murmurs Sweet Pea.

You squeeze your eyes shut, “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“No…” you say with a sigh. 

He sighs as he pulls away, “You know I’m in the Serpents. Why did that bother you?”

“I don’t know! Maybe… Maybe I just don’t see you...as a member of a gang.”

“Then what do you see me as?”

“As… Sweet Pea…”

He looks confused for a moment, “As Sweet Pea?”

“Yeah… You’re Sweet Pea… You’re the guy who is always there for me, you bail me out of bad situations, listen to me complain about homework, cloud watch with me… You’re my best friend…”

“Well… I’m still all those things…” he says as he takes a step towards you, “I’m going to take care of you…”

“I don’t need you to take care of me Sweets…” you say with a sigh. 

“Well tough… I’m going to take care of you anyway…”

“How are you going to do that?” you ask. 

“Well… I guess… I’m just going to have to be your boyfriend…”

“My boyfriend?” you say with a small smile, your stomach erupting into butterflies. 

“Yeah.. I mean… that’s what boyfriends do right? They take care of their girlfriends? And I really want to be your boyfriend.” 

He’s standing right in front of you gazing deeply into your eyes, “You know… if you want me to be your boyfri-”

He doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before you grab him by his jacket collar and pull him down into a kiss. It’s a little clumsy at first, especially since he wasn’t expecting it, but, after a moment Sweet Pea wraps his arms around your body and pulls you flush against him. One of his hands cup your face and when you pull away you rest your forehead against his. 

“I want you to be my boyfriend… How else am I supposed to keep you out of trouble?”

“You like when I’m trouble… admit it…”

“Maybe I do…”

He smiles a boyish smile before he pulls you back in for a kiss. You let out a squeal when he suddenly pulls you into a dip and gazes deeply into your eyes. Your arms wrapping around his neck and you let out a giggle. 

“I knew you couldn’t resist me Babydoll…” he says with a smirk before he pulls you back into a kiss. 

You smile into the kiss and feel yourself melting into him. 

This is perfect.

 

*~*~*

 

Monday morning rolls around and the telltales sounds of Sweet Pea’s bike pull up into the driveway. You run downstairs and call out a goodbye to your parents. You don’t expect to see your dad standing at the door gazing out the window while holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

“If you never drive the car...We’re probably just going to have to get you a bike as well soon…” he muses more to himself.

“The car is fine dad,” you say as you hug him. He grins down at you before he kisses the top of your head and waves you off. 

You hop off of your front porch and rush over to Sweet Pea. He hands you your helmet and you climb on behind him. 

“No kiss?” he pouts.

“My dad is watching…”

He nods in understanding before he starts his bike up and heads off down the road. You arrive at school a few minutes later and he pulls into a parking spot. Well his parking spot… no one else is allowed to park here. 

“Now can I have a kiss?” he asks as you get off of the bike, him following. 

“Yes.”

“Finally!” he exclaims as he pulls you into a kiss trapping you between the bike and his body. 

He pulls away and smirks down at you, “I can’t wait to show you off to the school.”

You throw your head back in a laugh, “Haven’t you been doing that already? Everyone already thinks that we are together.”

“That’s a bad thing?” he asks as he throws his arm over your shoulder a cocky look on his face and pulls your bag from your arm. He slings your backpack on his shoulder and places a kiss on your head as the two of you head into the school.

“You know… now that the two of you have finally professed your love for one another… Sweet Pea is going to be even more whipped than before!” Says Tori as she comes walking up behind you and Sweet Pea, the other girls in tow behind her. 

 

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes and glares over at Tori as she smile smugly up at him. 

“Just know Pea, you may be her boy… but we are her girls and if you hurt her, we’ll hurt you,” says Dare as she leans in to kiss your cheek. 

“Thanks guys!” you say with a laugh as the girls wave and head off down the hallway. 

“Why has half of the Serpents threatened me with death since Saturday morning? I’m the Serpent!” Sweet Pea says as he leans against your locker a light pout on his lips. 

“It’s not my fault everyone loves me…” you say as you stand on your tippy toes and peck him on the lips. 

“Besides… we all know that if you hurt me… the rest of the Serpents would be the last of your worries…”

He glances down at you with raised eyebrows. 

“But I’m not worried about that…”

“How generous of you…” he grumbles as he gets off the locker. 

“Nope… I just trust you,” you say with finality.

He smiles at your reply and takes your hand in his as the two of you continue off down the hallway. 

 

*~*~*

You follow Jughead up to the table where Sweet Pea, Fangs and Toni are sitting and watching a video on a beat up laptop. You go around to the other side of the table and wrap your arms around Sweet’s neck and press a sweet kiss to his cheek.

“I thought he wasn’t your boyfriend…” Jughead says in obvious confusion. 

“Well I am now Jones,” say Sweet Pea with a bite to his voice. 

“Easy Tiger…” you say with a laugh, “What are you watching?”

“Some sick in the head Northsider posted a crazy ass video and we were just talking…”

Sweet Pea turns the video at the last scene and shows Jughead the last few minutes. 

“About what?”

“Fogarty wants to earn his Serpent strips,” Sweet Pea says with a smirk, “I say bring us the head of that Northsider and you’re in.” 

 

“Pea…” you groan as you roll your eyes. He catches your hand and pulls you in to sit down beside him. You know he’s just having a bit of fun at Jughead’s expense, but you don’t want to get involved. They need to figure this nonsense out for themselves.

“I’m down with that,” says Fangs gazing up at Jughead.

Sweet Pea just laughs and bangs his fist down on the lunch table before you causing you to roll your eyes.

“Et Tu, Fangs?” you ask as you glance over at him. 

He looks around Sweet Pea and shrugs at you.

“No! Guys! No…” Interrupts Jughead. 

“What, Jones?” Sweet Pea asks with a faux innocent look on his face. 

“Look I know this guy, he’s a milquetoast. He’s a football player. Kind of a lame target, is all I’m saying. (Y/N)?” Jughead asks looking over at you

You just throw up your hands in surrender, “I’m not in the middle of whatever dick measuring competition this is… I’m getting pizza,” you declare as you press a kiss to Sweet Pea’s cheek and you get up from the table leaving your friends to sort out their differences for themselves. 

As you walk away you hear Sweet Pea say something about the Black Hood being a hero and just shake your head. 

“That boy and his mouth will be the end of him…” you grumble under your breath as you head up towards the cafeteria line.

**Author's Note:**

> Uh oh... Looks like we meet Sweet Pea next chapter! How is going to react at the news his sister was harassed by Ghoulies! Review and stay tuned!!


End file.
